Phil Druker/ Department of English/ UI  English317

 
DON'T BE SHOCKED WHEN LIGHTNIN ... 06/29/2000
Lewiston Tribune
Category: Outdoors
Published: 06/29/2000
Page: 1C
Keywords: Camping, storms
Caption: Associated Press
Lightning can be both awesome and deadly
Don't be shocked when lightning comes camping
Byline: Phil Druker
    At first, I was worried about getting back to camp before the coming storm soaked me. Then I started to worry that I had failed to put the waterproof rain fly on my tent before I left camp that morning.
  When a bolt of lightning thundered a couple seconds
after the flash, I started to worry about lightning.
  The storm was picking up moisture and energy as it moved up the North Fork of the Clearwater River. Flashes of lightning flickered through the growing anvil of a cloud. The storm looked like a gigantic jellyfish with streaks of rain forming tentacles and the growing cumulus cloud forming a giant body.
  Keeping my head down, I hurried along the trail. I figured I was hiking in a pretty safe, unexposed place. A rocky ridge was above me and plenty of big trees covered the steep slopes on either side of my trail.
  Then, FLASH! KABOOM! Lightning struck an old mountain hemlock about a hundred yards away. I turned just in time to see the lightning bolt hold on to that tree, a pure surge of energy arcing from the heavens above.
  "Wow," I said (that's not what I really said, but you might get the idea). Flames leapt and sputtered from the now broken top of the tree.
  Camp was still a couple miles away, so I careened on down the trail hoping to avoid more excitement. Rain came down in buckets. Lightning flashed, thundered, rumbled, and echoed through the hills. I thought I might drown, it was raining so hard. But I finally made it to camp. I was glad to find I had put the rain fly on my tent.
  The storm continued into the night. Lightning crashed and thunder rumbled and rolled through the mountains and the valleys. Sometimes the lightning struck so close it made the air smell like ozone -- a smell reminiscent of burning hair.
  I hunkered down in my little tent feeling very small as each lightning bolt brightly lit the tent. Sometimes the bolts struck far away and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking the storm had passed. Then, lightning would strike again nearby, and I lay on my sleeping pad, refusing to imagine my fried tent or fried me.
  I had long since given up counting after each lightning flash. A count of five represents a strike about a mile away. My counting was not getting past one or two.
  Finally the storm passed and I was able to get some sleep. I was glad I had placed my camp in a safe spot on a small hump away from the lake and away from any snags or tall trees.
  Lightning is one of those dangers that is pretty hard to avoid unless you decide to stay in your basement at home. In the United States, about 100 people each year are killed by lightning strikes; mountain climbing doesn't kill nearly that many people each year.
  Lightning bolts can pack up to 100 million volts -- enough to keep a 100-watt light bulb going for three months. Lightning usually kills by causing cardiac arrest. So, when lightning strikes a person, you should administer artificial respiration if necessary. Don't worry about getting shocked by the person -- all the electricity goes right to the ground.
  Lightning strikes don't necessarily kill. A neighbor of mine was struck by lightning and it blew out all her fillings. Sometimes it scrambles your nervous system. Other times it leaves nasty burns.
  Aside from the danger of a direct strike, lightning current can travel through the ground, so a building or a car usually makes a safe haven. But, depressions in the ground, low wet spots or small caves can attract the electric charge, so you need to avoid them in a storm.
  Generally, I advise people to stay home and watch lots of television, but if you happen to find yourself outside in a thunderstorm, here are some tips to consider:
  1. Do not seek protection from a storm under a tree. You know this. Your friends know this. Your mother told you this. But guess where many lightning fatalities occur? Those big trees are mighty inviting in a storm, but you need to figure you're better off wet and cold than dead. Lightning especially seems to like large trees with a crowd of people hiding under them, so consider avoiding crowds.
  2. If you're out hiking or climbing, try to time your travels so you come down from exposed places by early afternoon. Remember, lightning can strike before the storm actually reaches you. Definitely don't climb into storms.
  3. Place your camp in a safe place, away from water, big trees or snags, and the base of cliffs or rock faces. Your tent, if it is placed safely, is a relatively safe haven because your sleeping pad protects you from ground currents and the metal tent poles don't necessarily attract lightning.
  4. If you are caught in a storm, head for lower country. If your hair begins to stand on end, lightning is probably targeting you. Keep moving and stay low. If you're in a place where you can't move, you need to crouch (no, you don't need to kiss your rear goodbye) so you stand less chance of acting as a lightning rod. If possible, crouch on your sleeping pad or pack for insulation and keep your hands off the ground. You don't want an electric charge passing from the ground through your hands to your body because that increases the chances of the electricity affecting your heart.
  5. Finally, if you're on the water and a storm comes up, you should head for shore, beach the boat, and get away from the water. About the worst thing you can do is stand in the boat -- you might become the highest point around and a good lightning rod.
  The next day, I hiked back to check on that tree lightning had set on fire. As with many lightning caused fires, the night's rainstorm had doused it.
  All this reminded me that lighning and wildfire, while frightening, help keep wild forests healthy.
  As my father used to say, "You gotta take the bad with the good."