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Could lightning have damaged this oak?

16 years ago

We live in a very rural area and have several very large, old live oaks on our place. This one is in my yard.

This evening, I noticed this big gash on it, about 4' up to where the bottom of the gash starts. The gash definitely wasn't there last evening, because the old kitchen collander that sits in the tree, we fill with cat food every night for some baby raccoons, and I would have noticed it. There is a concrete block on the ground that I have to stand on to fill the collander.

We had a storm go through here today, but I wasn't home at the time. I know we got a lot of lightning and about 4" of rain.

I am puzzled what could have put a gash in the tree. The tree is very healthy. The branches grow down to the ground, all around it. No other damage to anything...just this big gash, but there is no sign of fire or burn, if it was lightning. Would lightning always cause a burn...and

would lightning strike that low to the ground?

The bark came off in big pieces, shreds...but there are no claw marks on the layer where the bark is missing.

No livestock near the tree. Deer on the place, but never in the yard and it is too far up to be deer...plus, the bark is very heavy and thick.

It's a mystery to me. The only thing I can think of is lightning but no burn...so I don't know.

I would appreciate any ideas. Thank you very much for your help.

{{gwi:366594}}

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Comments (7)

pineresin
16 years ago
Yep, could well be lightning. It often doesn't leave any burn marks, the action is too fast to scorch the moist wood. It just boils the sap explosively, throwing off strips or chunks of bark like this.

Resin
lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
I suppose that metal bowl was a conductor for lightenings?

How unfortunate... Being close to the tree that got struck by lightening was probably the most scary I've experienced. Of course the tree died. :(
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Let me reiterate my concern. Even if a tree struck by lightning lives and continues to grow, the tree may well have damage that will not only limit its lifespan, but also can make it a hazard in the future. Some trees can survive a lightning strike--small ones like resin describes--and be OK. I say OK and mean OK, not really fine. White oak survives and grows as well as any tree, and a really notable lightning survivor, or so I am told, is the larger of the two tuliptrees next to Monticello, T. Jefferson's home in Charlottesville, VA. This tree is aver 8 feet in diameter and is, I am told, hollow from the old lightning damage. But the tree has closed its wound completely and you can't see any trace of it now. But in my old neighborhood in Arlington, VA a really huge tuliptree was struck a few years ago and the lightning made a path between a fork in the tree that had a good "bridge" of wood between. At this point the bridge was killed and unless one looked very carefully one would not see this critical damage. This tree is so large that if this now killed bridge splits, a house could be crushed and people killed. Even if a tree just has a streak down its trunk, this is killed wood and it may not heal. Rot and bugs of various kinds can get into the tree and start working away at the tree's basic support. Please be careful! --Spruce
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Thank you for the responses. I just spoke with the floor guy. His experience with our insurance company has been that they "get it" with the hardwoods and are generally agreeable to redoing the whole floors and not just a patch. I sure hope that holds true for us. DH and I have pretty much decided to do the whole floor out of concern for matching and aging thereafter. If we end up having to eat part of the cost, it's probably worth it in the long run. I'll keep my fingers crossed, though. Thanks again for helping me!
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jesus ... the tree can live 100 years.. and you want to act within hours of an injury .. step away form the tree .. for at least a year ... the wound is rather meaningless ion regard to the bazillion volts of electricity that went thru it ... how about we just give it some time.. to see what happens ... is it.. in any manner.. hanging over any structure of value??? /. hire a CERTIFIED professional arborist before you do anything .. and every dude with a chainsaw is not necessarily .... a learned.. certified professional tree peep you are way to intent on instant gratification .. for a tree that can live multiple centuries ... without anything from you ... DONT DO ANYTHING ken
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Thank you all very much for the feedback. I have a tree service coming to look at it tomorrow. I also contacted the Davey Institute and their research technicians looked at it and said they had never seen such a thick mat of Armillaria. They recommended tree removal due to uncertainty of the root system. Thanks again for the great community response. I'll update with what the tree service says tomorrow.
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marilyn_c
Original Author
16 years ago
Right next to it, not five feet away is a metal cage with possums in it. (I rehab wildlife). It wasn't touched...animals are fine.

Will the tree live, if it was a lightning strike? I love that tree so much...it is heartbreaking to think of losing it.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
I've known live oaks to live for many years after a mild lightning strike. These oaks 'tend' to have superficial damage, following the deep fissures in their bark. If you observe some of the oldest live oaks in your community, you can see ancient lightning scars.
pineresin
16 years ago
"Will the tree live, if it was a lightning strike?"

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I would think yours will survive a good while yet, as live oak is very resistant to decay.

Resin
marilyn_c
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for the info. I have replaced the aluminum collander with a plastic one...in case that had anything to do with attracting the lightning to it.

It's not a very big gouge...so I hope the tree will recover.
If it was a pine or a tree more suseptible to disease, I'd worry more. Not that I'm not worried about it. I love that old tree! I hope it is around many more years after I am gone.
spruceman
16 years ago
Do a search of these sites for "liquid copper fungicide" and see the instructions I give for its use. I think the situation you have is a perfect case for its application. It will give good insurance that the tree will not get a fungal infection through this wound. If you have any questions, come back and ask.

--Spruce

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