Thread: lightning strike

I have found any timber Ive used from a tree felled by lightning seems a lot harder and somewhat brittle. Almost petrified to some extent.

Originally Posted by BobL

I agree it's bollocks about lightening strikes. Unless the tree is a sapling or the strike is big one the charge usually runs down one side across bark if it is wet and through the sapwood. This vaporises the fluids in the sapwood and usually blows a strip of bark/sapwood off the side of the tree. If it's a sapling which has a lot of sap wood it can blow the whole tree apart. If it is a decent size tree most of the rest of the tree is unaffected

Here are some pics of a lightening struck spotty I milled over 3 years ago.

BTW the timber is still in top shape.

A few weeks ago I had a couple of trees struck by lightening and it was exactly as Bob L described. The small sappling blown appart and opened the trunk of the larger tree See attatched photos