Lightning in Sequoia National Park strikes a tree – and inju

[zacjust32]

http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/art ... 31286.html

By Brianna Calix
September 19, 2017 3:23 PM

A Monterey County father and his two children are recovering from being struck by lightning on a Labor Day backpacking trip to Sequoia National Park.

Chris Lovera and his two children, Aidan, 12, and Nadia, 9, were caught in a storm at Jennie Lake during their first family backpacking trip, the Monterey Herald reported. The Pacific Grove family just hiked six miles on a trail when it began to pour, and Lovera stopped to take a short video of the experience and post it to... read more

[Vaca Russ]

WOW!

What amazingly bad luck. First backpacking trip for the kids too.

Good thing others were there and had the opportunity to help.

JMHO,

-Russ

[maverick]

They were very fortunate to have survived.
Some folks go into cardiac arrest after being hit by lightning, which requires a person, who has not be affected, to administer cpr, which one should keep in mind when hiking solo during thunderstorm activity, know how to increase your odds of survival. http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... ing#p58095

[SSSdave]

"Witnesses told the three it looked like the electricity blew them up, and their bodies were “flying,” Lovera said in a Facebook post."

Now that is a truly amazing story of survival after being hit by lightning. The picture of the skin on his seared back and description of what happened to all 3 of them is scary. So glad there were others nearby who were able to connect to SAR so a rescue helicopter was quickly sent. Let us pray his young children recover.

Nothing frightens me in the backcountry as much as lightning when by chance I find myself in an exposed location. As someone with a strong physics background that has extensively studied lightning as a non-scientist, although there is much more than is usually suggested one do to avoid being struck, in the end it is sometimes rather random like tossing dice. Until I retired in February, my electronic work was repairing RMA'd telephony VOIP media gateway switch appliances. The primary reason most boxes failed was due to lighting strikes that travel down outdoor telephone lines, into buildings, and into equipment. Such telephony equipment is about the most vulnerable category of electronic equipment in thunder storms. Results of some powerful strikes caused some incredibly mangled blackened circuit boards including gobs of melted semiconductors and metal splattered about.

David

[maverick]

As someone with a strong physics background that has extensively studied lightning as a non-scientist, although there is much more than is usually suggested one do to avoid being struck, in the end it is sometimes rather random like tossing dice.

Yep, there is no 100% way, to avoid getting struck. I still remember these two incident in Sequoia NP:
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/30 ... ightning30
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25281586