Thread: lightning strike

Should be ok if there is no other obvious damage. People say it wont burn after a strike and I did try with a piece of yellowbox which had been struck 10 years earlier. Chucked it in the fuel stove with other wood, cleaned out the stove next morning and there it was, chared but still in one piece, the rest was ash. Milled the log to posts and they're still going strong 15 years later.

Hi Rusty Nail,

That bol---cks about lightning struck trees not being any good for firewood is standard bush lore in Tassie also. Even more important though is if you are going to use such a tree for fence posts you have to be sure to use it for fences located within half a mile ( I don't know what that is exactly in new money) of the original stump. Those posts will last for a thousand years and no; you're not going to believe this, they will never be hit by lightning again. I'm not sure who issues either warranty but I guess we will all be able to discuss the fine details of the wording with him long before a thousand year has expired.

Cheers Old Pete

So how do you explain the piece I chucked in the stove? It was as dry as, when it went in. Do we put it down to some timbers are affected and some aren't? Interestingly, the rest of the wood that would have gone in with it would have been yellowbox as well, as that was the only timber we collected for firewood. Strange but true. I wonder if some timbers are more effected than others. I had a similar result with iron bark, but that was just an open fire. As Tas timbers are softer maybe the result is not the same. Or maybe I just make a crap fire.

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.

Yes, I agree, the timber seems to be fine and as far as I know, the posts I cut are still in service. But how do we explain the piece in the stove? I have cut other standing dead timber, which had been lightening struck, with no change to its burning ability. Its just that couple of times it didnt want to burn.

Originally Posted by rustynail

But how do we explain the piece in the stove? I have cut other standing dead timber, which had been lightening struck, with no change to its burning ability. Its just that couple of times it didnt want to burn.

My guess is it was coincidental that the conditions inside the stove were such that it burnt the other wood but not the lightening stuck stuff. I've seen it happen before occasionally when different species or levels of dryness wood is used.

The timber in the stove was all yellowbox, as that is the only wood we collected for fire wood, it had been stacked on the verandah, totally dry for about 6 months and was dead and standing dry when collected. I dont think conditions inside the stove would be that variable with a good yellowbox fuelled fire going. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying it was due to lightening, but at the same time I have to keep an open mind until a better explanation comes up. As for the other crap about distance from stump and thousand year fence posts it all sounds a bit Tasmanian to me.So now what ?

Originally Posted by rustynail

The timber in the stove was all yellowbox, as that is the only wood we collected for fire wood, it had been stacked on the verandah, totally dry for about 6 months and was dead and standing dry when collected. I dont think conditions inside the stove would be that variable with a good yellowbox fuelled fire going. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying it was due to lightening, but at the same time I have to keep an open mind until a better explanation comes up. As for the other crap about distance from stump and thousand year fence posts it all sounds a bit Tasmanian to me.So now what ?

I reckon we pull out a coupla beers and ponder the nature of the pooliverse and life's bigger mysteries!

Like water devining?

Hi all,
The reason I was given, why a L / Struck Tree will not burn is because the Lightning has used up, burnt up, call it what you like, being there is no Oxygen left, in the Wood.
Better say, I was Employed by the State Electricity Commission of Vic for 33 yrs. & we had a quite a few Poles that were struck,
& 1 unlucky Lad cut this pole up, took some home, & went crook because no one told him it had been hit by Lightning.
The reason, it would not burn.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi all,
The reason I was given, why a L / Struck Tree will not burn is because the Lightning has used up, burnt up, call it what you like, being there is no Oxygen left, in the Wood.
Better say, I was Employed by the State Electricity Commission of Vic for 33 yrs. & we had a quite a few Poles that were struck,
& 1 unlucky Lad cut this pole up, took some home, & went crook because no one told him it had been hit by Lightning.
The reason, it would not burn.

I heard something pretty much the same as this. The same bloke also mentioned that the timber is really good for furniture making as it goes really tough and durable. Not sure if there was any truth to the timber being extra tough but who knows.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi all,
The reason I was given, why a L / Struck Tree will not burn is because the Lightning has used up, burnt up, call it what you like, being there is no Oxygen left, in the Wood.

This makes no sense. When anything burns in air, unless it is something like rocket fuel, it rarely supplies its own oxygen so it doesn't matter if the wood has oxygen or not.

I decided to google it and came up with this:

Self Service Science Forum

There is some useful information further down on the page.

Nothing wrong with lightning struck trees for timber, done several. I have heard that it doesnt kiln dry well, but at the time I was on my 4th stubbie and not prepared to argue why.