We all know that lightning can char a tree or singe your roof.  And by now you know that lightning can melt sand, soil and small rocks.  But do you know what a single bolt can do to a sidewalk?  Or your front yard?  Or a patch of desert?  Did you know that if you are close to a lightning strike but manage to escape a direct hit, you could still get hit by molten glass?

NEW FIND! - Seven Springs, AZ On November 24, 2006 a lightning strike site was discovered under a telephone pole on a small hilltop north of Carefree, Arizona.  The site was found by my brother Josh during a casual hike in the area.  During three separate visits over a two week period we removed a massive amount of material from the site.
As is typically the case in fulgurite finds, our site was under a utility pole (center of photo).  No other poles in the area yielded any signs of lightning activity.	Before unearthing any pieces, we documented the site with photos.  The site spanned an area about 10 feet long by 10 feet wide at the base of the pole.	If you don't know what to look for, a fulgurite site is nearly invisible.  All that can be seen in this photo are what seem to be rusty pipes and shards of glass.	A separate bolt blasted a half-inch hole through this rock leaving a rock fulgurite and some rare exogenic fulgurite in the form of glassy splatter on the surface.

This sequence of photos shows our process for unearthing a specimen. Since it is difficult to determine where a fulgurite will go, we started at an arbitrary central point on the specimen.  We delicately worked our way along the specimen with a screwdriver and paintbrush, exposing more branches as we brushed the loose surface dirt away.  After most of the fulgurite was visible, we took photos to document the location of branches and then carefully removed the pieces.			This photo was taken to show the positioning of branches after cleaning. This six and a half foot long specimen has not yet been permanently assembled.

This ugly blob of brown glass marked the main entry point for the bolt of lightning that forged the largest fulgurite network of the four we discovered at the site.	We arrived at the site for the first time in the early afternoon.  Since we had to work quickly to beat the early sunset, we each worked on a separate network.	The largest network had four main branches that radiated from the main entry point.  Total size of this specimen is not yet known but we estimate about 8 feet.	Melted fragments of aluminum wire such as this littered the terrain around the site.  This section of wire had a small, forked six-inch fulgurite under it.

We returned two weeks later to grab a few small pieces we knew we had left behind.  But as my brother sifted through the dirt and debris, he found this stump.	Unlike all of the other specimens we found at this site which stayed just under the loose surface, this one dove into nearly solid granite underground.	Our crew takes a break as our last day at the site nears an end.  On the left is my uncle Tom and on the right is my brother Josh, who found the site.	We bagged and tagged  the branches as best we could to allow for full reassembly.  The brittle nature of this specimen has made it difficult to work with.

Florence, AZ
photo by Drake Brees   This bolt of lightning was similar to the one seen by Magdalene Brees as she watched a fierce thunderstorm from a window in her Florence home in 2004.	These marks were etched into the metal pole when it was hit by the bolt.  Magdalene rode her bike to the pole the next day and found the ground under it marred and glassy.	The bolt surged down the highly conductive pole and entered the ground at the base, where it writhed in the coarse desert gravel for nearly 30 feet before losing its energy.	A year later, the Brees auctioned many pieces to eager buyers in the eBay community.  Shown proudly by Drake Brees, this piece was the largest recovered from the strike.

Pico Rivera, CA
photo by John Samarin   This photo captures the severe damage inflicted on a section of sidewalk hit by a bolt of lightning in Pico Rivera, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.	photo by John Samarin   The bolt surged into the thick concrete creating many small rivulets of bubbling, molten glass.  Note the quarter in the center of the photo for size reference.	These are most of the pieces that a local man  recovered from the scene and auctioned on eBay.  The main bolt hit about a foot away from the sidewalk.  Note the dark, olive-green glass.	It took several hours to reassemble, but most of the pieces fit neatly together to create this complete specimen. The underside of this piece was the bolt's main entry point.

Minneapolis, MN
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Huntsville, AL
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Denton, TX
photo source unknown   Click here for a link to the news story about the strike that caused the gash in this front yard in Texas.  The bolt shattered the curb as it spilled from the yard into the street.	photo source unknown   The bolt had enough energy to create a 30 foot long fulgurite in the soil.  Local professors unearthed the unusual soil-formed specimen, some of which is shown here.