Lightning Sparks More Wildfires

Exhausted firefighters in California had to contend with more wildfires as unprecedentedly heavy lightning storms struck the state and sparked at least 800 wildfires, from Big Sur to the Napa Valley to Humboldt County.

Late Sunday evening, there were 520 fires raging across the state but by Monday morning the count had gone up to well above 700 fires. A later update put the actual figure at 842 fires — all of them (except two) were in the northern areas.

The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that between 5,000 and 6,000 lightning strikes hit the state. The fierce thunderstorms struck California over the weekend.

These were dry thunderstorms, which characteristically are accompanied by high winds. The rain that falls down the base of dry thunderstorms quickly evaporates and never hits the ground.

A big fire that began in Napa County quickly spread to Solano County, putting at risk 250 homes nearly 40 miles due south of Sacramento. Another fire hit the Trinity National Forest, which threatened a number of youth camps and 1,200 homes and made evacuations necessary. These two fires had burned about 6 square miles.

In the Los Padres National Forest, a 2,000-acre fire forced people to evacuate. One house was totally destroyed and hundreds of others were at risk. A total 57,745 acres have been charred in Los Padres as of Monday night.

The governor had to ask for help from firefighting units in Nevada and Oregon. Help came mostly in the form of firefighting aircraft. There was no way anybody could have prepared for 500 or 800 fires all breaking out simultaneously. The lightning strikes just came so suddenly.

Lightning has often been disregarded as a minor threat to human life. In fact, lightning causes more weather-related deaths than the combined total fatalities due to hurricanes, tornadoes and all other weather hazards. And, lightning causes a lot of wildfires.

On the average, 300 people suffer injuries from lightning in the U.S. every year and 80 people are killed. The odds of being struck by lightning at least once are 280,000 to one. The odds of being attacked by a shark are 8 million to one.

With such odds, storm safety during summer months (and thunderstorms) should be practiced. Open fields, golf courses, ball parks, and beaches are particularly vulnerable to lightning.

Safety Tips:

* Avoid open spaces. If the storm catches you in the open, put a safe distance between you and trees and metal objects. Bend low to ground and hold your head between the knees. Lying flat on the ground makes you a bigger target.

* Stay away from structures and isolated sheds in open spaces. These become targets for lightning.

* Follow the 30/30 Rule. Look for shelter when thunder follows lightning flash in 30 seconds or less. Stay in your shelter for 30 minutes after the last thunderclap.