Lightning?

[prunetang]

Spotted this driving home a while ago and stopped to check it out.
My first thought was lightning but am not confident. There were two scars opposite of each other. The scars went as high as I could see from the ground. Valley Oak, so had large branching but was not obviously co-dominant It was one of the tallest things in the area. I think that lightning only leaves one scar but possibly it was hit twice?
I found lots of lightning scar photos via google but do others have photos or any ideas of what else this could be?

 

[Shadowscape]

I wouldn't be hasty in ruling out lightening. Even one strike. The lightening vaporizes the moisture in the tree and turns it into steam that expands to 1800 times the volume of its liquid size in a fraction of a second. I saw it explode a large maple tree and throw pieces of the tree the size of a canoe over the top of a house. They were stuck in the ground on the other side of the building some 75' away from where the tree had been. The pressure build up could have easily split the bark on both sides.

 

[Neill]

Sounds likely to be lightening in my opinion from what you have described. I remember a lightening struck codom pine from awhile ago that worked on and both stems had strikes

 

[data farm 26]

I wouldn't be hasty in ruling out lightening. Even one strike. The lightening vaporizes the moisture in the tree and turns it into steam that expands to 1800 times its liquid size. I saw it explode a large maple tree and throw pieces of the tree the size of a canoe over the top of a house. They were stuck in the ground on the other side of the building some 75' away from where the tree had been. The pressure build up could have easily split the bark on both sides.

Th legendary Mr. Beranek once posted some photos of a lightning exploded redwood, it was a sight to behold.

 

[Neill]

Probably can’t see it from this photo but this was the one I’m thinking of

 

[pete3d]

Particularly the way the scars run so definitively “into” the ground (nice photos) makes me think “lightning”.

 

[southsoundtree]

Particularly the way the scars run so definitively “into” the ground (nice photos) makes me think “lightning”.

I would armchair-agree. I don't have much lightning tree experience.





A big handful of years ago, one large doug-fir tree took an obvious strike, and the two adjacent large doug-firs got roasted, too...all dead. Maybe electrocution by grafted roots...my guess.

 

[Shadowscape]

I do a lot of lightning struck trees. My guess is the stem was split all the way across. Thus, the two splits in the bark. It is the instant boiling of the moisture in the wood that causes the damage from pressure. Splits it apart, along with the bark layer. Any fire type damage is usually just surface marks, unless the tree is extremely dry for some reason.

 

[ATH]

This was lightning strike with relatively little damage. Not super obvious in this pic, but black streak went all the way top to bottom.

I say "relatively" little damage...at least to the tree. Certain occupants of said tree may disagree. Found on ground under tree. I'm not a veterinary coroner, but... that's lightning damage.

 

[chiselbit]

I had a client once who raised mules and donkeys. During a storm the donkeys congregated under a large ponderosa pine, lightning struck the tree and then shot out near the base and killed several donkeys

 

[kcendsley]

I have a lightning strike stripe about 8' long on a very tall oak tree. I was going to cut out the remaining damaged bark and then spray with pruning paint to prevent infestation and disease. Is this recommended?

 

[Shadowscape]

My 2 cents: I would not cut anything, nor would I spray it with pruning paint. The lightening has vaporized the moisture and created pressure in the wood, which split the tree and bark. I would think that painting would only interfere with the bark healing over the wound.
But I am not a tree pruner, so I may be off base here, and if a pruner chimes in then I would go with their ideas over mine. But the damage is only from splitting. That part I do know about, and I know it will heal given time, although it will leave a scar.

 

[Reach]

I have a lightning strike stripe about 8' long on a very tall oak tree. I was going to cut out the remaining damaged bark and then spray with pruning paint to prevent infestation and disease. Is this recommended?

I will concur with @Shadowscape. I see no reason to do any cutting, nothing there is hanging loose that I can see, cutting anything out will likely do more harm than good.

Also, painting a wound is considered to be a bad idea. The tree will naturally seal itself (look up CODIT) to better understand how, and wound sealants generally just seal in moisture and pathogens that are on the wood already rather than keeping anything out.

 

[kcendsley]

Thank you enough for your pro advice. I was about to paint over that stripe for fear of bugs and disease. It is a small percentage of the total tree so I will just keep it well watered with a watchful eye. Thank you.

 

[Reach]

Thank you enough for your pro advice. I was about to paint over that stripe for fear of bugs and disease. It is a small percentage of the total tree so I will just keep it well watered with a watchful eye. Thank you.

You’re welcome! I would keep an eye on it, around here we often see lightning struck trees die after as long as three years, others do just continue to thrive though. An evaluation by a professional is always a good idea, I would recommend looking for a Board Certified Master Arborist in your area, or at least a Certified Arborist who has some good credentials.

As for watering, I would not water it much more than normal, as too much water isn’t good for a tree either.