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Cedar Creek Fire tops 74,000 acres, puts up tall pyrocumulus clouds, lightning; wind shift sends smoke back into C.O.

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(Update: New info late Saturday night)

Oakridge still evacuated, Hwy. 58 still closed; some power restored

OAKRIDGE, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Cedar Creek Fire has more than doubled in size, topping 74,000 acres Saturday as winds shifted to push the blaze back toward the east, putting up towering pyrocumulus clouds that peppered the area with lightning and sent smoke again blowing into the High Desert.

“Easterly winds pushed the fire west until the early evening, when winds shifted and pushed towards the east,” fire officials said in a late Saturday night update on the fire’s Facebook page.

A late-Saturday update on the fire’s InciWeb page said the fire had reached 74,420 acres, with nearly 1,000 personnel battling it, and removed the earlier 12%c containment estimate.

“Giant pyrocumulus clouds formed directly above the fire, sending multiple lightning strikes into the fire footprint,” they said. “Lightning occurs when the clouds grow above 30,000 feet. These strikes did not influence the fire behavior.”

Despite the plume on the fire’s west side, it “did not make significant runs,” as it did on Friday, officials said late Saturday.

Thick, heavy smoke blanketed the fire Saturday, in, both the west and east zones, and ashfall was being reported over long distances amid some cooler temperatures.

Officials said seven task force teams of firefighters were prepared for direct and initial attack efforts overnight, strategically placed throughout the fire and surrounding communities with resources from the state fire marshal.

The fire remained north of state Highway 58, east of Kwiskwis Butte Road and south of Forest Road 19.

The fire grew by some 22,000 acres in 12 hours and 40,000 acres in a day, according to a Saturday afternoon posting.

The Oakridge, Westfir and High Prairie areas remained under a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation order Saturday, although Lane Electric Cooperative said it had begun restoring power in some places, bringing in mutual-aid crews from other areas. The live, interactive evacuation level map is at https://lcgisorg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fffd5cd4131d40bc885331fe3c905283

Officials said power restoration in the McKenzie area was delayed, requiring coordination with the Bonneville Power Administration, which also de-energized lines in the area as a precaution.

A red flag warning for critical fire weather stayed in effect until 11 p.m. Saturday.

Fire officials also noted that despite heat signatures showing on a map south of Oregon Highway 58 at Kitson Ridge, crews found no evidence of fire activity and said the fire had not crossed Highway 58.

Among the widespread recreation impacts were closures to public access of the Edison Butte, Kapka Butte and Virginia Meissner sno-parks. Officials said the lower parking area at Wanoga Sno-Park remained open for public use and trail access, and Swampy Lakes Sno-Park and trailhead also remained open.

Sunrise Lodge at Mt. Bachelor and the parking area were closed for use as an incident command post for the fire’s East Zone, being used by Alaska Incident Management Team 1.

(Credit: Cedar Creek Fire/Facebook)

A long stretch of Highway 58 over Willamette Pass remained closed Saturday, from about milepost 13 at the Lowell Bridge on the west to Crescent Lake, milepost 70 on the east. ODOT advised motorists to take alternate routes and avoid the area. Check our TripCheck page for the latest.

Power shutdowns to reduce fire risk also were affecting other highways Saturday, ODOT said, advising travelers to watch for darkened traffic signals and debris in the roads. They also advised to expect heavy traffic late Saturday afternoon on Interstate 5 in Eugene around the Oregon Ducks football game.

Here’s Saturday morning updates on the Cedar Creek and other large Oregon wild fires – remember that we have the state of Oregon’s live wildfires dashboard on our Fire Alert page:

Cedar Creek Fire                                       
September 10, 2022                                                                                            

Daily Update – 8:00 AM                                                                                                                             

Cedar Creek Fire Quick Facts

Size: 51,814 acres Contained: 12% Start Date: August 1, 2022 Location: 15 miles E of Oakridge, OR
Cause: Lightning Total personnel: 862 Resources: 29 engines 19 crews 46 heavy equipment 8 helicopters

Current Situation: Yesterday, Governor Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act. Level 3 evacuation level remains in place for the greater Oakridge, Westfir, and High Prairie area. Fire activity is expected to be high again today. East winds, low humidity, and high temperatures will continue today and start to ease tomorrow. Where winds align with terrain, tree canopy fire and fire spotting are anticipated. Fire will be carried by lichens and heavy fuels.

Status of the fire on the Willamette National Forest and West Zone: The fire has not crossed west of Highway 19; firefighters are working to hold and improve the east side. Spot fires crossed south of Highway 58 at Kitson Ridge. Firefighters are working to keep the fire north of Forest Road 1928. Today’s fire activity is expected to be extreme with long-range spotting and crown runs. Expect a large smoke column to develop by mid-morning. East of Waldo Lake, the Alaska Incident Management Team has established two branches and six divisions to work in the Deschutes National Forest side of the Cedar Creek Fire. Where possible, direct attack water drops with helicopters is occurring on the southeast edge. Crews are preparing Road 4290 from Charlton Lakes to the Cascade Lakes Highway to control the spread of the fire to the southeast.

To prevent the spread of the fire toward the east, efforts are focused on shaded fuel breaks 100-200 feet in depth on both sides of the Cascade Lakes Highway. Crews are working in the Brown Mountain area south of Crane Prairie Lake and working north. From the north, crews are working from the 2017 Nash Fire burned area near Elk Lake and improving the fuel breaks on both sides of the Cascade Lakes Highway working south. Additional contingencies are being scouted for east of the Cascade Lakes Highway.

Weather: A RED FLAG Warning is in effect today due to hot, dry, and windy conditions. East winds will continue today and switch to westerly winds tomorrow. Toward the afternoon the valley will become windy. Poor humidity levels overnight will allow for an extended burn window.

Closures: The Deschutes National Forest and Willamette National Forest have implemented closures for the Cedar Creek Fire. Please visit Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest for detailed closure orders and a joint map. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place. The use of drones is prohibited in the fire area, please make it safe for our firefighters to use aircraft on the fire. Pacific Crest Trail hikers should visit pcta.org for current information.

Restrictions: Fire restrictions are in place on the Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest.  

Smoke: Smoke Forecast Outlooks are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook.

Online: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8307/ | https://www.facebook.com/CedarCreekFire2022/ |

YouTube: https://www.tinyurl.com/cedarcreekfireyoutube

Evacuations: Sign-up for emergency mobile alerts by going to oralert.gov Please check with Lane County Sheriff’s Office 541-682-4150 and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office 541-693-6911 for updates and changes. Go to https://bit.ly/3D51kvC to view a map.
 
Fire Information: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Phone: 541-201-2335 | Email: 2022.cedarcreek@firenet.gov

Van Meter Fire Update:

Incident Commander: Tyler McCarty, ODF Team 3

Van Meter Fire

Klamath Falls, Ore. – Overnight, firefighters completed fireline around the southern end of the fire and continued to secure the perimeter in other areas.  Matt Flock, Operations Section Chief, reminded resources at briefing “Completing that line helps to lock in the fire, but there is still an incredible amount of work left out there as we transition to mop-up and continue to widen the cold area around the fire.” Smoke may be visible today as unburned fuels within the fire are consumed.

As the work transitions to mop-up and securing fireline in the southern area of the fire, hose-lays will be constructed to provide water to all parts of the fire.  Air resources will continue to provide support to moderate fire behavior as needed.  In the northern area of the fire, where mop-up is already underway, firefighters will be patrolling for hotspots and smoke and gridding for heat.  The goal is to widen the area from the established fireline toward the interior of the fire. 

Structural resources will continue to monitor areas around homes, coordinating with wildland resources which will be working to grid for heat and cold trail these areas.  Cold trailing is a process where firefighters look for signs of fire or smoke, feel the ground for heat, and use water to put out any areas where fire remains.

Due to minor growth Friday and improved mapping of the existing perimeter, the fire is currently 2,502 acres.

Evacuation levels will continue to be re-evaluated throughout the day.  For the latest up-to-date evacuation information, please visit the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KlamathSheriff or call 541-205-9730.  An evacuation shelter has been established at the Klamath County Fair and Event Center in Klamath Falls for anyone displaced by the fire.  Space for large and small animals is available as well.

Residential traffic is allowed, but to ensure public and firefighter safety the public is asked to stay out of the fire area.  Bureau of Land Management lands in and around the fire area remain closed to the public.

No reportable accidents have occurred on the fire.  Falling snags and trees, ash pits and rattlesnakes continue to be safety concerns for firefighters on the line.   

Low humidity and high temperatures remain in the forecast with some increased wind activity.

A Temporary Flight Restriction exists around the fire to limit any aircraft not associated with firefighting activities in the airspace.  Wildfires are always a no-fly zone for drones.  A drone flying in the area can ground all operational aircraft and impact suppression activities.

Double Creek, Sturgill, Nebo, Goat Mountain Two Fires
September 10, 2022
Daily Update – 8:00 AM

Highlights: The cooler weather has moderated fire behavior somewhat in the timber, but the fire is still actively spreading in the grass. Structure protection preparations are complete along Lostine Road. Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) task forces continue to assist with operations on the south side of Double Creek.

Double Creek Fire: 147,582 acres | 15% contained | 796 personnel assigned The west side of the fire has been secured and Upper Imnaha Road from Imnaha to Freezeout Road is in patrol status. The fire continues to actively spread in the dry grass on the north, east, and south side of the fire. Firefighters are working in Horse Creek drainage on the north side of the fire to secure structures and look for opportunities to build control line to the east. River boats are being used to patrol and assess structure protection needs along the Snake River. Firefighters continue to protect structures along Upper Imnaha Road on the south side of the fire and to scout for potential control lines to tie the road to the Snake River to the east. The OSFM task forces are engaged in structure protection preparations in Imnaha River Woods four miles south of the fire’s edge.

Weather: Elevated fire weather conditions occurred yesterday with wind out of the northeast and very dry conditions. Similarly sunny and dry conditions are expected again today, but with a wind coming from the south. It is important to note that we will not be experiencing the conditions that are the cause for the Fire Weather Watch on the west side of the Cascades.

Smoke: The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued an Air Quality Advisory that is in effect until 2:00 p.m. Saturday for Wallowa, Union, Deschutes, and Umatilla Counties. For additional information, visit the DEQ website. A smoke outlook for northeast Oregon is available from the wildland fire air quality response program. Additional information can be found at PurpleAir website.

Evacuations: Level 3 “Go Now” is in effect for the Town of Imnaha north to the Snake River at Dug Bar and south to Highway 39. Level 2 “Get Set” is in effect for Lostine River Road from Fir Road south to Two Pan (including all campgrounds and trailheads). Level 1 “Be Ready” is in effect for Lostine River Road from Highway 82 to Fir Road.

Wallowa Whitman National Forest Temporary Area Closures: The Wallowa Whitman National Forest issued Temporary Area Closures for the Double Creek Fire, Nebo Fire, and Sturgill Fire (includes Goat Mountain 2 Fire) on Monday. Closure Orders and Maps are available on the Wallowa Whitman National Forest Fire Incident Updates page.

Wallowa County Road Closures: Lostine River Road from Moffitt’s south is closed. Lower Imnaha Road and Dug Bar Road are closed. Upper Imnaha Road is closed. Hat Point Road is closed. FS 39 Road is closed from Target Springs Junction to Ollokot Campground [including the Canal Rd (3920) and Lick Creek Road (3925)].

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Closures: Highway 350 (Little Sheep Creek Highway) in Wallowa County is closed between milepost 6 and milepost 29, where the highway ends. Local traffic will be allowed. https://www.tripcheck.com/

Airspace: Airspace restrictions have been issued for the Double Creek, Nebo, Sturgill, and Goat Mountain 2 Fires. Temporary Flight Restrictions were updated for the Double Creek Fire (TFR 2/4975) and the Sturgill Fire (TFR 2/3189) to provide a safe environment for firefighting aircraft operations over the fires. Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) 08/234 and NOTAM 08/235 were issued to provide safe airspace for the Nebo and Goat Mountain 2 Fires. Flight restrictions also apply to drones. Drones flying in areas of wildfire activity will cause firefighting aircraft to be grounded.

Restrictions: Forest Order #06-16-00-22-04 covers Phase B Fire Restrictions for all National Forest System Lands within the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, except for the area within a ¼ mile of the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam, River Mile 247.5, downstream to the Oregon-Washington border at Snake River Mile 176.0, which is regulated by Forest Order #06-16-04-22-01.

Fire Information
Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Phone: 541-216-4579
Email: 2022.doublecreek@firenet.gov
InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8366/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/doublecreekfire2022
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/Double-Creek-Fire

Crockets Knob Fire Update
NORTHWEST INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 12
Incident Commander: Bobby Shindelar
September 10, 2022

Today is Northwest Incident Management Team 12’s last day on the Crockets Knob Fire. Management of remaining firefighting resources will transition to the High Desert Type 3 Incident Management Team tonight. Northwest IMT 12 would like to thank the Prairie City School District for hosting our team and the local community for your support and hospitality!

Weather: East winds will be gusty in the morning but will become calmer by the afternoon. Temperatures will be slightly warmer today with highs in the low-80s. Conditions will still be dry with relative humidity dropping into the low teens.

Operations: Yesterday fire activity was minimal, allowing firefighters the opportunity to mop up remaining heat along containment lines. Crews also continued pulling hoses and excess equipment from containment lines. Chipping and cleanup were ongoing along FSR 45 yesterday and will continue today. Resource advisors are assessing the impacts of the fire suppression activities. They are determining what repair work may be required to protect natural and cultural resources and minimize the potential for future erosion. Helicopters assisted local small fires yesterday and will be available to assist the Crockets Knob Fire and initial attack fires today as needed.

Closures and Evacuations: Grant County has lifted the Level One evacuation advisory in the area of the fire, and County Road 20 (Middle Fork Road) has been fully reopened. Today the closure area remains in effect on the Malheur and Umatilla National Forests. Sunday the Forests will be decreasing the closure area. For complete closure information, please go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/malheur/notices/.

Smoke may be visible to nearby communities and Forest visitors. Smoke and air quality impacts within the state can be monitored by visiting: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com

The Malheur National Forest’s Public Use Restriction is Phase C on the Blue Mountain and Prairie City Ranger Districts. No campfires or personal chainsaw use is allowed. The Umatilla National Forest remains in at Phase B, which allows campfires only in designated campgrounds and recreation sites. For more information, please go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/malheur/fire, and https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/alerts-notices.

Fire Danger remains High for the surrounding area. The vegetation is still very dry, and one spark or ember could start a significant fire. The public can help us by making good decisions when they recreate on public lands and by following local fire restrictions.

Quick Facts:
SIZE: 4,331 Acres
CONTAINMENT: 60%CAUSE: Lightning
PERSONNEL: 448
LOCATION: 19 miles north of Prairie City
FIRE INFORMATION: 541-625-08922022.crocketsknob@firenet.gov
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CrocketsKnobFire
INCIWEB: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8355/
TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTION: There is a Temporary Flight Restriction over the Crockets Knob Fire area. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone – if you fly, we can’t.

Rum Creek Fire Morning Update for Saturday, Sept. 10

Quick Stats –
Acreage – 21,347
Resources Assigned – 1,042
Containment – 55%
Fire Information: 541-625-0849
InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8348/
Evacuations: https://tinyurl.com/JOCOEvacMap

Road closures still in place at Rum Creek Fire
 
MERLIN, Ore. – While evacuation levels have been reduced near the Rum Creek Fire, road closures are still in place. Only residents (must show proof of residency) are allowed past the roadblocks.

The public is reminded not to drive past or around road closures, as this creates a hazard for firefighters and residents trying to return home. There are reports of people driving at excessive speeds, not paying attention to the road or traffic, or taking their half of the road out of the middle. Traffic congestion interferes with movement of fire equipment and personnel working on the fire, and may impede the response to a flare-up. If you do not need to be in the fire area, please stay out.

Burned areas are hazardous for people to enter. Dead and green burned trees can fall, often without warning. Burned areas that have not been cooled may have smoldering stump holes and deep pockets of hot ashes. Stepping into these can cause serious injury. Even with extensive training, firefighters are killed or injured by these fire hazards every year.

The Red Flag Warning and Heat Advisory issued by the National Weather Service extend into this evening. Friday night’s very dry, warm conditions were described by Fire Behavior Analyst Nate Perrine as “like day shift for fire activity, but dark.” Relative humidity levels will be critically low again today, below 10% in some areas. Wind gusts up to 18 mph from the southeast are expected at Rum Creek Fire, along with high temperatures around 100 degrees.

Despite the critical fire weather Friday, the Rum Creek Fire stayed within its footprint with no acreage gain. One interior flare-up was suppressed using water drops from helicopters to ensure fire did not threaten the containment line. On most of the fire, personnel took advantage of the increased fire behavior to continue mop up near the fire’s edges. Containment has increased to 55%.

A group of firefighters is staying in a temporary camp near the northwest edge of the fire, to avoid the long transportation time into this remote area. This allows firefighters to easily monitor and work on the fire overnight and during the day. With winds from the southeast in the forecast, having eyes on this area is critical to keeping fire within containment lines.

After today, fire weather is expected to abate, with cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity. After the extensive dry spell, fuels remain dry and the potential for new fire starts will stay high. Any new fire is expected to spread rapidly. Resources from the Rum Creek Fire are available to help with initial attack on new fire starts nearby.

The unmanned aerial system (UAS) has been reassigned to a fire with greater need for its special functions. On the Rum Creek Fire, the UAS assisted with aerial reconnaissance, infrared mapping, and tactical ignitions.

Evacuations: Evacuation orders and notifications have not changed.  An interactive map showing evacuation levels according to address can be found at //JosephineCounty.gov/FireMap. For the most current evacuation information and resources, go to Josephine County Incident Information (rvem.org).

Road control: Josephine County Sheriff’s Office has established traffic access points around the fire zone. Road blocks are located at Galice Road near Crow Road; Galice Store; Bear Camp Road at Peavine (top intersection); Lower Grave Creek Road at Angora Creek (Grays Ranch); Quartz Creek Road about 3 miles up (end of County maintenance); Dutch Henry Road near Kelsey Creek (42 44’56.2/123 40’35.4); and Hog Creek at Galice Road. Only residents (must show proof of residency) and permitted users will be allowed through.

River status: The Wild section of the Rogue River below Grave Creek will remain open unless fire conditions warrant closure. River status is determined on a day-to-day basis. Please call 541-471-6535 for more information regarding Rogue River permits. No new boating permits will be issued at this time.

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Science

NASA moon rocket on track for launch despite lightning hits

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket remained on track to blast off on a crucial test flight Monday, despite a series of lightning strikes at the launch pad.

The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA. It’s poised to send an empty crew capsule into lunar orbit, a half-century after NASA’s Apollo program, which landed 12 astronauts on the moon.

Astronauts could return to the moon in a few years, if this six-week test flight goes well. NASA officials caution, however, that the risks are high and the flight could be cut short.

In lieu of astronauts, three test dummies are strapped into the Orion capsule to measure vibration, acceleration and radiation, one of the biggest hazards to humans in deep space. The capsule alone has more than 1,000 sensors.

Officials said Sunday that neither the rocket nor capsule suffered any damage during Saturday’s thunderstorm; ground equipment also was unaffected. Five strikes were confirmed, hitting the 600-foot (183-meter) lightning-protection towers surrounding the rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The strikes weren’t strong enough to warrant major retesting.

“Clearly, the system worked as designed,” said Jeff Spaulding, NASA’s senior test director.

More storms were expected. Although forecasters gave 80% odds of acceptable weather Monday morning, conditions were expected to deteriorate during the two-hour launch window.

On the technical side, Spaulding said the team did its best over the past several months to eliminate any lingering fuel leaks. A pair of countdown tests earlier this year prompted repairs to leaking valves and other faulty equipment; engineers won’t know if all the fixes are good until just a few hours before the planned liftoff. If Monday doesn’t pan out, the next launch attempt would be Friday.

After so many years of delays and setbacks, the launch team was thrilled to finally be so close to the inaugural flight of the Artemis moon-exploration program, named after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology.

“We’re within 24 hours of launch right now, which is pretty amazing for where we’ve been on this journey,” Spaulding told reporters.

The follow-on Artemis flight, as early as 2024, would see four astronauts flying around the moon. A landing could follow in 2025. NASA is targeting the moon’s unexplored south pole, where permanently shadowed craters are believed to hold ice that could be used by future crews.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Science

Lightning strikes Artemis 1 launch pad 2 days before liftoff (video)

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This is why launch pads have lightning towers.

Lightning crackled today (Aug. 27) over Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which will host the highly anticipated liftoff of the agency’s Artemis 1 moon mission on Monday morning (Aug. 29). 

The bolts came close to the Artemis 1 stack — a Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket topped by an Orion crew capsule — with three even hitting Pad 39B’s lightning towers.

Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission: Live updates
More: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos

See more

There’s no cause for alarm; the towers were doing their job, shunting dangerous strikes away from valuable spaceflight hardware. One of 39B’s three towers was similarly struck in early April during an Artemis 1 fueling test, for example, and the SLS and Orion emerged unscathed.

In a blog post update (opens in new tab) this evening, NASA officials said the three strikes today were likely “of low magnitude.” Still, the agency is investigating whether they may have affected the Artemis 1 stack or Pad 39B.

“A weather team has begun an assessment that includes collecting voltage and current data, as well as imagery,” NASA officials wrote in the update. “The data will be shared with a team of experts on electromagnetic environment efforts who will determine if any constraints on vehicle or ground systems were violated. Engineers will conduct a walkdown at the pad tonight, and if needed, conduct additional assessments with subsystems experts.”

Artemis 1 is the first mission of NASA’s Artemis program of lunar exploration, as well as the debut flight of the SLS. The powerful rocket will launch Orion on an uncrewed mission to lunar orbit that will last six weeks from liftoff to splashdown. The main goal is to demonstrate that both vehicles are ready to start launching astronauts to the moon and other deep-space destinations.

The weather isn’t great on the Space Coast today, as the lightning strikes show. But it’s expected to clear up considerably by launch day; weather forecasters with the U.S. Space Force say there’s a 70% chance that Mother Nature will cooperate on Monday morning.

If the weather or technical issues nix that liftoff attempt, however, NASA has two backup opportunities in the current launch window to shoot for — Sept. 2 and Sept. 5.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. EDT on Aug. 27 to include information from the NASA blog post update.

Mike Wall is the author of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).  



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Science

‘Gigantic jet’ that shot into space may be the most powerful lightning bolt ever detected

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The sky turns dark, a heavy rain falls and a bolt of lightning crackles through the air. But instead of striking down toward the ground, or zipping sideways between clouds, this lightning bolt does something unexpected: It blasts straight upward from the top of the cloud, shooting 50 miles (80 kilometers) into the sky, grazing the lower edge of space.

Bolts like these are called gigantic jets. They are the rarest and most powerful sort of lightning, occurring as few as 1,000 times a year and emitting more than 50 times as much energy as a typical lightning bolt — and now, scientists have just detected the single most powerful gigantic jet yet.

In a study published Aug. 3 in the journal Science Advances (opens in new tab), researchers analyzed a gigantic jet that shot out of a cloud over Oklahoma in 2018. By studying the jet’s radio-wave (opens in new tab) emissions using satellite and radar data, the team learned that the bolt moved approximately 300 coulombs of energy from the top of the cloud to the lower ionosphere — the layer of charged particles that separates Earth’s upper atmosphere from the vacuum of space — or roughly 60 times the 5-coulomb output of a typical lightning bolt.

“The charge transfer is nearly double the previous largest by a gigantic jet and is comparable to the largest ever recorded for cloud-to-ground strokes,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Related: What’s the longest lightning bolt ever recorded? (opens in new tab)

Capturing such detailed data on the massive stroke of lightning required an equally massive stroke of luck. A citizen scientist based in Hawley, Texas filmed the jet with a low-light camera on May 14, 2018, watching as the gargantuan discharge shot out of a cloud top before connecting with charged particles in the ionosphere, some 60 miles (96 km) above the ground.

Scientists analyzing the footage found that, as luck would have it, the jet occurred very near the center of a large lightning mapping array (LMA) — a network of ground-based radio antennas used to map the locations and times of lightning strikes. The jet was also within range of several weather radar systems, as well as a weather-watching satellite network.

With these sources combined, the researchers studied the size, shape and energy output of the gigantic jet in unprecedented detail. The researchers found that the jet’s highest-frequency radio-wave emissions (the kind that LMAs are built to detect) came from small structures called streamers, which develop at the very tip of a lightning bolt and create a “direct electrical connection between the cloud top and the lower ionosphere,” lead study author Levi Boggs, a research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, said in a statement (opens in new tab).

The strongest electric current, meanwhile, flowed considerably behind the streamers, in a section called the leader. The data also showed that while the streamers were relatively cool, with a temperature (opens in new tab) of roughly 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius), the leader was scorching hot, with a temperature of more than 8,000 degrees F (4,426 C). This discrepancy is true of all lightning strikes, not just gigantic jets, the researchers wrote.

So, why does lightning sometimes blast up instead of down? Scientists still aren’t totally clear on that, but it likely involves some sort of blockage that prevents lightning from escaping through the bottom of a cloud; gigantic jets are typically observed in storms that don’t produce many cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, the team added. 

For whatever reason, there is usually a suppression of cloud-to-ground discharges,” Boggs said. “In the absence of the lightning discharges we normally see, the gigantic jet may relieve the buildup of excess negative charge in the cloud.”

Gigantic jets are also reported most frequently in tropical regions, the team noted. This makes the record-breaking jet over Oklahoma all the more remarkable; the jet was not part of a tropical storm system. More research — and a lot more luck — is needed to understand these epic, upside-down lightning strikes.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Science

Scientists Investigate Upside-Down Lightning Bolt That Touched the Edge of Space

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On May 14, 2018, a tempest straight from The Twilight Zone rained over Oklahoma. 

Rather than scatter the Earth with jagged lightning bolts, the shrouds of dense clouds powering this storm spit one 50 miles upward, far enough to graze the ionosphere, or the edge of space. This violent, backward burst of electricity would soon be classified as one of nature’s most mysterious atmospheric phenomena: A gigantic jet.

Gigantic jets are simply luminous beams born alongside regular lightning bolts, yet pointed in the opposite direction. But they’re a lot stronger than their downward-facing counterparts, sometimes even threatening space vehicles or other technologies floating in our planet’s orbit. And this particular one was incredibly intense. It’s considered the most powerful of its kind studied so far, carrying an estimated 300 coulombs of electrical charge, a whopping 100 times more than typical lightning bolts hold. 

Over the past two decades, scientists have identified several of these strange forces, but many of those sightings were accidental catches from the public. 

For instance, a violet streak was imaged from an airplane passing over Bhadrak, India and another was spotted with a nighttime camera near the 6,240-foot summit of Shikengkong mountain in China. In 2013, NASA added an experiment to the ISS in order to help get a better, more actively placed look at the scene above cloud tops so we can catch gigantic jets in action. Still, the science community doesn’t have many observing systems tailored to the search. 

Which is why Oklahoma’s 2018 incident was serendipitous.

By happenstance, this extreme event occurred close to a bunch of relevant science instruments in the state, like satellite networks and a lightning-mapping system that detects what are called “very high frequency signals.” A citizen-scientist in the area even photographed it with a low-light camera. So, drawing on all of these clues, a crew of scientists collected as much data as possible about the jet to try to paint a detailed retelling of what happened four years ago in the swirling Oklahoman sky. 

This gigantic jet was captured on a single 3.2-second exposure above Bhadrak, India. Although the gigantic jet appears connected to the airplane’s wing, it likely started in a more distant thundercloud and can be seen extending upwards towards Earth’s ionosphere.


Hung-Hsi Chang/NASA

“We were able to map this gigantic jet in three dimensions with really high-quality data,” Levi Boggs, a research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and an author of a paper on the structure published Aug. 3 in the journal Science Advances, said in a press release.

Such a three-dimensional structure is important in the quest to decode gigantic jets because their ascension from clouds means they’re often obscured from view. “We were able to see very high frequency sources above the cloud top, which had not been seen before with this level of detail,” Boggs said. And those VHF signals offered a goldmine of information about gigantic jets.

Basically, lightning bolts emanating from thunderstorm clouds are produced by a combination of leaders and streamers. Leaders are the result of electrical charge differences that help develop lightning, and streamers are found at the very tip of those developing bolts. Together, these forces work to propagate electricity channeled from within the stormy cloud, but leaders typically form the bulk of discharge.

The new study’s researchers first of all definitively saw the gigantic jet-producing leaders and streamers were situated above the thunderstorm cloud during Oklahoma’s event, rather than toward the bottom where they’d normally be found. Second of all, “the radio and optical data show the first clear evidence that the VHF observed by lightning networks is produced by streamers ahead of the leader,” the study authors wrote.

“Those cold streamers start their propagation right above the cloud top,” Boggs explained. “They propagate all the way to the lower ionosphere to an altitude of 50-60 miles, making a direct electrical connection between the cloud top and the lower ionosphere.”

Beyond that, the team dissected many other interesting gigantic jet charge dynamics and even settled on one possible explanation for why these odd beams spurt out at all. “For whatever reason, there is usually a suppression of cloud-to-ground discharges,” Boggs said of records collected from the Oklahoma event. “In the absence of the lightning discharges we normally see, the gigantic jet may relieve the buildup of excess negative charge in the cloud.”

In other words, some thunderstorm clouds might be bottling up their negative energy — and as they say, that’s bound to come out one way or another.

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Unraveling the Mysteries of “Gigantic Jet” Lightning Bursts That Reach 50 Miles Into Space

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The telescopes at Maunakea sit calmly at an altitude of around 4200 meters (13,800 feet) beneath a sky filled with extraordinary light. Gemini North’s nighttime Cloud Cams captured this extraordinary light phenomenon. The column of blue and red lights surrounded by a bright blaze of white light appears so otherworldly that it looks like it must be a special effect. This breathtaking image, however, is entirely real. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/A. Smith

New information about an elusive atmospheric phenomenon known as gigantic jets has been uncovered by a detailed 3D study of a massive electrical discharge that rose 50 miles into space above an Oklahoma thunderstorm. As the most powerful gigantic jet studied so far, the Oklahoma discharge carried 100 times as much electrical charge as a typical thunderstorm lightning bolt.

This image series, taken from a video, shows the formation of a gigantic jet over Oklahoma in May 2018. Credit: Chris Holmes

The gigantic jet moved an estimated 300 coulombs of electrical charge from the thunderstorm into the ionosphere – the lower edge of space. Typical lightning bolts carry less than five coulombs between the cloud and ground or within clouds. The upward discharge included relatively cool (approximately 400 degrees

Radio mapping sources extending up from the convective structure of the storm. The gray plane represents the storm top. Credit: Georgia Tech Research Institute

Steve Cummer, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke, uses the electromagnetic waves that lightning emits to study the powerful phenomenon. He operates a research site where sensors resembling conventional antennas are arrayed in an otherwise empty field, waiting to pick up signals from locally occurring storms.

“The VHF and optical signals definitively confirmed what researchers had suspected but not yet proven: that the VHF radio from lightning is emitted by small structures called streamers that are at the very tip of the developing lightning, while the strongest electric current flows significantly behind this tip in an electrically conducting channel called a leader,” Cummer said.

Doug Mach, a co-author of the paper at the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), said the study was unique in determining that the 3D locations for the lightning’s optical emissions were well above the cloud tops.

“The fact that the gigantic jet was detected by several systems, including the Lightning Mapping Array and two geostationary optical lightning instruments, was a unique event and gives us a lot more information on gigantic jets,” Mach said. “More importantly, this is probably the first time that a gigantic jet has been three-dimensionally mapped above the clouds with the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument set.”

GTRI researcher Levi Boggs is shown with a schematic showing the structure of a gigantic jet. Credit: Georgia Tech Research Institute

Gigantic jets have been observed and studied over the past two decades. However, because there’s no specific observing system to look for them, detections have been rare. Boggs learned about the Oklahoma event from a colleague, who told him about a gigantic jet that had been photographed by a citizen-scientist who had a low-light camera in operation on May 14, 2018.

Fortuitously, the event took place in a location with a nearby VHF lightning mapping system, within range of two Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) locations and accessible to instruments on satellites from NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) network. Boggs determined that the data from those systems were available and worked with colleagues to bring it together for analysis.

“The detailed data showed that those cold streamers start their propagation right above the cloud top,” Boggs explained. “They propagate all the way to the lower ionosphere to an altitude of 50-60 miles, making a direct electrical connection between the cloud top and the lower ionosphere, which is the lower edge of space.”

That connection transfers thousands of amperes of current in about a second. The upward discharge transferred negative charge from the cloud to the ionosphere, typical of gigantic jets.

The data showed that as the discharge ascended from the cloud top, VHF radio sources were detected at altitudes of 22 to 45 kilometers (13 to 28 miles), while optical emissions from the lightning leaders remained near the cloud top at an altitude of 15 to 20 kilometers (9 to 12 miles). The simultaneous 3D radio and optical data indicate that VHF lightning networks detect emissions from streamer corona rather than the leader channel, which has broad implications to lightning physics beyond that of gigantic jets.

Why do the gigantic jets shoot charge into space? Researchers speculate that something may be blocking the flow of charge downward – or toward other clouds. Records of the Oklahoma event show little lightning activity from the storm before it fired the record gigantic jet.

“For whatever reason, there is usually a suppression of cloud-to-ground discharges,” Boggs said. “There is a buildup of negative charge, and then we think that the conditions in the storm top weaken the uppermost charge layer, which is usually positive. In the absence of the lightning discharges we normally see, the gigantic jet may relieve the buildup of excess negative charge in the cloud.”

For now, there are many unanswered questions about gigantic jets, which are part of a class of mysterious transient luminous events. That’s because observations of them are rare and happen by chance – from pilots or aircraft passengers happening to see them or ground observers operating night-scanning cameras.

Estimates for the frequency of gigantic jets range from 1,000 per year up to 50,000 per year. They’ve been reported more often in tropical regions of the globe. However, the Oklahoma gigantic jet – which was twice as powerful as the next strongest one – wasn’t part of a tropical storm system.

Beyond their novelty, gigantic jets could have an impact on the operation of satellites in low-earth orbit, Boggs said. As more of those space vehicles are launched, signal degradation and performance issues could become more significant. The gigantic jets could also affect technologies such as over-the-horizon radars that bounce radio waves off the ionosphere.

Reference: “Upward propagation of gigantic jets revealed by 3D radio and optical mapping” by Levi D. Boggs, Doug Mach, Eric Bruning, Ningyu Liu, Oscar A. van der Velde, Joan Montanyá, Steve Cummer, Kevin Palivec, Vanna Chmielewski, Don MacGorman and Michael Peterson, 3 August 2022, Science Advances.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl8731

Boggs is affiliated with the Severe Storms Research Center, which was established at GTRI to develop improved technologies for warning of severe storms, such as tornadoes, that are common in Georgia. The work on gigantic jets and other atmospheric phenomena is part of that effort.



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D.C. lightning strike survivor had been fundraising for refugees

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All day long, the tall, leafy tree had been a source of shade and comfort for Amber Escudero-Kontostathis.

Amid 90-some degree heat, she’d spent hours canvassing tourists in front of the White House for donations to help refugees in Ukraine, her family said. As she finished her shift on Thursday last week, a storm gathered overhead, thickening with clouds, rain and thunder.

That Thursday happened to be her 28th birthday, her family said. So while Amber waited for her husband to pick her up for a celebratory dinner, she sought shelter once again from the same tree, huddling with three others under its outstretched branches, according to her family and authorities.

Three people dead after lightning strike Thursday near White House

One was Brooks Lambertson, a young and rising bank vice president from Los Angeles. There was Donna Mueller, 75, a retired teacher, and her husband James Mueller, 76, who came from Wisconsin to Washington to celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary. And there was Amber, a young woman from California whose travels in the Middle East teaching English had kindled a desire to help those stricken by war and poverty in that region.

They were strangers brought to that precise spot on the east side of Lafayette Square, at that precise moment for different reasons — business, vacation, a passion to help.

Just before 7 p.m., it was at that spot — under a leafy tree about 100 feet from a statue of President Andrew Jackson — that lightning struck.

Experts recorded a lightning flash in the area as six individual surges of electricity that hit the same point in the space of half a second. If the electricity struck the tree first, experts said, it would have sent hundreds of millions of volts coursing through it before passing into and over the bodies of those gathered beneath it.

“It shook the whole area,” an eyewitness later recounted. “Literally like a bomb went off, that’s how it sounded.”

The strike left all four grievously wounded. Secret Service and U.S. Park Police — who keep the park in front of the White House under constant patrol — ran to help.

On Friday morning, police announced the elderly couple from Wisconsin had died. Later that night, the banker from Los Angeles also passed away, police said.

Amber would be the sole survivor.

What happens when lightning strikes — and how to stay safe

The lightning strike stopped Amber’s heart, said her brother Robert F. Escudero. Two nurses, who happened to be visiting the White House on vacation and saw the Secret Service running to help, immediately started giving her CPR and managed to restore her pulse, he said.

The lightning caused severe burns along the left side of her body and arm, her family said. That’s the side her bag was on, carrying the iPad she used to sign people up for refugee donations.

Her parents rushed to Washington from California, and her mother has documented her fight to recover on Facebook. The lightning strike left Amber struggling at first to breathe, wrote her mother, Julie Escudero. But by Friday, nurses were able to take her off the ventilator.

The lightning also damaged her short-term memory. She was scared and confused about what happened to her. “We definitely don’t want her to remember the incident right now,” her mother wrote on Facebook. But every time she wakes up, her mother wrote, she asks what happened to her, is she going to die, and will she be able to walk? Her family said one thing she has been particularly worried about is her work fundraising for refugees.

She had majored in international studies in college and traveled to Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, according to her brother and her work profile. She spent a year teaching English in Jordan and soon after began fundraising for nonprofits. She started working in Washington last year for a group called Threshold Giving and focused especially on fundraising for the International Rescue Committee, a global relief agency.

“The first thing she told me when we FaceTimed is, ‘I need to get back to work on Saturday,’” Robert Escudero said. “She’s worried about raising money for the refugee kids. She asked me, ‘Who’s going to get the money for them if I’m not out there?’”

A friend started a GoFundMe page to raise money for her medical bills. So her brother said he promised Amber he’d work with Threshold Giving in the coming days to also create a way for people who learn about her survival story to donate to refugees.

The one thing her family has not yet broached with her is the fate of the others who were with her that night under the tree.

“She is starting to realize there were others and she wants to know how they are doing and what she did wrong,” her mother said in a Facebook post on Sunday. “She cares so much for others, it will be hard for her.”

On Sunday, many signs of the fatal lightning strike were still visible at Lafayette Square.

A tree bore streaks of charred bark, cracks and a large gash in the main trunk where the wood remained warped like a bruise. Folks passing through Lafayette Square paused at the tree to stare at the scars.

One of them was Cal Vargas, a childhood friend of Lambertson, who died. He brought a wreath and bouquet of white flowers to lay at the base of the tree. Vargas and Lambertson had been friends since kindergarten and grew up together in Folsom, Calif., where they shared a passion for sports and the Sacramento Kings.

“He was an amazing individual,” Vargas said quietly. “Always had a smile on his face, always looked at the bright side of things.”

Earlier on the day the lightning struck, Lambertson, 29, had arrived in Washington on a business trip from Los Angeles. He was passing time before a dinner reservation when he got caught in the storm, Vargas said.

In a phone interview, Lambertson’s father, whom The Washington Post is not identifying by name to protect his privacy, said his son was “probably the best human being that I know.” He said his son’s kindness, generosity and humility “showed up in everything he did, in all his interactions with people.”

He worked at City National Bank as a vice president managing sponsorships for the company. He had done marketing for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, and graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, according to a statement from the bank.

The elderly Wisconsin couple who also died that day were celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary, family members said.

Donna Mueller, 75, and her husband, James Mueller, 76, had been high school sweethearts before marrying. James had owned a drywall business for decades while his wife worked as a teacher, according to one of their daughters-in-law, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy.

The couple lived in Janesville, Wis., about 70 miles west of Milwaukee, and had five grown children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. “Both would do anything for their family and friends,” relatives said in a statement.

The odds of someone being killed by lightning are extremely rare. In the past decade, only an average of 23 people in the United States have died each year.

Multiple fatalities are even more rare. Before last week’s strike, the last time three people died in a single incident was more than 18 years ago on June 27, 2004, when three people in Georgia were struck under trees at Bedford Dam State Park, said John Jensenius, a specialist at the National Lightning Safety Council.

Because lightning tends to strike tall objects, experts warn that taking shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm is highly dangerous. When a tree is hit by the electrical charge, moisture and sap in the tree easily conduct the electricity, carrying it to the ground around the tree, experts say.

“When lightning strikes a tree, the charge doesn’t penetrate deep into the ground, but rather spreads out along the ground surface,” Jensenius said. “That makes the entire area around a tree dangerous, and anyone standing under or near a tree is vulnerable.”

For that and other reasons, Amber’s survival has felt miraculous, her family said. If it hadn’t happened in right in front of the White House where Secret Service agents are stationed. If the two nurses who revived her hadn’t been on vacation and seen what happened.

On Saturday night, Amber was finally able to take a few steps on her own, her family said. She was supposed to start a master’s program in international relations this fall at Johns Hopkins University — the latest step in her work trying to help refugees and those suffering abroad.

“She’s an amazing, strong-willed person. And she has such a heart for others,” her brother said. “So the goal now is to get her walking again by the time classes start in a few weeks.”

Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.

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Science

Scientists release new findings about gigantic lightning jets – study

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A new study found new information about gigantic jets, which are supercharged lightning bolts that shoot upward.

Researchers examined the most powerful gigantic jet studied yet, which occurred in Oklahoma with 100 times more electrical charge than a regular lightning bolt.

In the peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday, the researchers created a three-dimensional map of the Oklahoma jet, according to corresponding author Levi Boggs, a scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

“We were able to map this gigantic jet in three dimensions with really high-quality data,” Boggs said. “We were able to see very high frequency (VHF) sources above the cloud top, which had not been seen before with this level of detail. Using satellite and radar data, we were able to learn where the very hot leader portion of the discharge was located above the cloud.”

As the Oklahoma jet emerged from the top of a cloud, the researchers detected multiple very high frequency (VHF) radio sources at an altitude of 22-45km, as well as simultaneous optical emissions near the top of the cloud at an altitude of 15-20 km. This indicated that the VHF sources were produced by small structures at the tip of the lightning bolt called streamers and that the streamer discharge activity can reach all the way from the top of the cloud to the ionosphere, according to the study.

Red sprite lightning seen from ISS (credit: NASA/EXPEDITION 31/PUBLIC DOMAIN/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Streamers and leaders

Furthermore, The data from the 3D radio and optical emissions suggested that networks of VHF lightning detect emissions from the top of the streamers, not the leader, a current that flows behind the tip.

“The radio and optical data show the first clear evidence that the VHF observed by lightning networks is produced by streamers ahead of the leader,” the study read.

Study co-author Doug Mach of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) emphasized the study’s novel approach to using 3D mapping to determine that the lightning’s optical emissions occurred far above the top of the clouds.

“The fact that the gigantic jet was detected by several systems, including the Lightning Mapping Array and two geostationary optical lightning instruments, was a unique event and gives us a lot more information on gigantic jets,” he said, adding, “More importantly, this is probably the first time that a gigantic jet has been three-dimensionally mapped above the clouds with the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument set.”

According to the researchers, these findings may have a major impact on lightning physics in general.



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DC lightning strike by White House: Third deceased victim identified

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D.C. police have identified the third person killed by a Thursday lightning strike near the White House as Brooks A. Lambertson, 29, a Los Angeles bank employee who was in the nation’s capital on business.

A husband and wife from Wisconsin, who were visiting the District to celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary, were also killed, police previously said. A fourth person was critically injured when the strike hit just before 7 p.m. Thursday, in a grove of trees in Lafayette Square, about 100 feet from a statue of President Andrew Jackson.

Lambertson died Friday, according to police.

Four critically injured after lightning strike near the White House

Lambertson’s father, who requested his name not be used as the family grieves because “it’s not about us,” said in an interview with The Washington Post on Saturday night that his son was “probably the best human being that I know.”

His son’s kindness, generosity and humility “showed up in everything he did, in all his interactions with people,” he said.

Lambertson’s family and his employer, City National Bank, said in a statement Saturday that he was in D.C. for his job as a vice president managing sponsorships for the company. Lambertson, who lived in downtown L.A., previously worked in marketing for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, according to the statement.

Police offered few other details about Lambertson or additional information about the incident Saturday.

In a phone call, Lambertson’s father expressed gratitude to all the first responders and others who tried to help his son. They did everything that could be done, he said, and his son’s death “was not for lack of everybody doing their jobs.”

How lightning works — and how to stay safe when it’s in the area

“His sudden loss is devastating to all who knew him, and his family, friends and colleagues appreciate the thoughts and prayers that poured in from around the country,” the statement from Lambertson’s family and employer said.

A D.C. police spokeswoman said late Saturday that the department did not have an update on the condition of the fourth victim, who had been hospitalized after the strike.

This breaking story will be updated.

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Three dead after lightning strike near White House on Thursday

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Three people, including a Wisconsin couple celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary, have died after a lightning strike Thursday evening in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House, D.C. police said Friday.

Four people — two men and two women — were critically hurt in the strike just before 7 p.m. in the center of the park, in a grove of trees about 100 feet southeast of the statue of Andrew Jackson, fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said at a news briefing Thursday night. The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Park Police rendered aid to the victims, assistance that fire officials credited with all the victims’ initial survival.

Among those who died were Donna Mueller, 75, a retired teacher, and her husband, James Mueller, 76, who owned a drywall business for decades before retiring, according to one of their daughters-in-law, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy.

They were high school sweethearts before marrying and were in Washington as tourists, a vacation trip to mark their anniversary, the daughter-in-law said. She said they had no connection to the other people who were under the tree when the lightning hit.

The couple lived in Janesville, Wis., about 70 miles west of Milwaukee, and had five grown children, ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. “Both would do anything for their family and friends,” their relatives said in a statement.

The other person killed was a 29-year-old man, police said in announcing his death Friday afternoon. His identity was withheld pending notification of relatives.

What happens when lightning strikes — and how to stay safe

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement: “We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park. Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we are praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

Because lightning tends to strike tall objects, experts warn that taking shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm is highly dangerous. When a tree is hit by the electrical charge, moisture and sap in the tree easily conducts the electricity, carrying it to the ground around the tree, according to a National Weather Service webpage on lightning science.

“When lightning strikes a tree or other object, much of the energy travels outward from the strike in and along the ground surface,” the webpage says. “This is known as the ground current. Anyone outside near a lightning strike is potentially a victim of ground current.”

The lightning was unleashed by a severe thunderstorm that swept across the District just before 7 p.m. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for much of the Beltway area between 6:30 and 7:15 p.m., cautioning of the threat of damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-size hail.

Chris Vagasky, an analyst for Vaisala, which operates a national lightning detection network, said in a message that there was a “6 stroke flash near the White House that hit the same point on the ground” at 6:49 p.m. He explained that means six individual surges of electricity hit the same point on the ground within half a second.

Vagasky tweeted that between 2010 and 2021, “289 cloud-to-ground flashes occurred within 1 mile of the White House, an average of 24 per year.”

“This incident underscores the need for people to get to a safe place any time a thunderstorm is in the area,” said John Jensenius, a safety specialist with the National Lightning Safety Council, in an email. “Even a distant rumble of thunder should serve as a warning to get inside a substantial building or hard-topped metal immediately.”

Lightning strikes were unleashed during a severe thunderstorm in Washington, D.C., before four people were apparently struck near the White House on Aug. 4. (Video: Dave Statter)

Lightning kills 23 people in the United States in an average year. The fatalities from Thursday’s strike in the District boosted 2022’s lightning toll to 12 — exceeding last year’s total of 11. According to the Lightning Safety Council, this is the first fatal lightning incident in the District since 1991, when a teenager was killed and 10 other people were injured at St. Albans School in Northwest Washington.

In June 2020, two National Guardsmen were injured in a lightning strike near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest Washington. In 1998, a woman was critically injured and other spectators hurt when lightning struck RFK Stadium during a concert.

What I learned from 20 years photographing lightning in D.C.

July and August are the peak months for lightning in the United States.

Numerous storms, containing frequent lightning, flared up in the region Thursday evening after temperatures soared into the mid- to upper 90s earlier in the day, prompting a heat advisory. Heat indexes, a measure of how hot it feels with humidity factored in, reached 100 to 110 degrees.

Thunderstorms are forecast for the Washington region again Friday and over the weekend. The Weather Service issued a flood watch for the area for Friday afternoon and evening.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Clarence Williams, Emily Davies and Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this report.



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