Tree strikes by lightning are not a rare phenomenon, but it is usually just seen as a tree dying and drying out after being struck. It is, however, quite unusual to encounter a tree that is smoldering from the inside, creating a sight that is both terrifying and fascinating.
Firefighters in Ohio, USA, were astonished when they received a call about extinguishing a fire coming from inside a tree.
Astonishing moment a tree burns from the inside, resembling a gateway to hell
Upon arriving at the scene in Ridgeville, Ohio, the firefighters encountered an unbelievable sight. Instead of a tree engulfed in flames as they had imagined when receiving the report, they found a large tree with flames burning from within.
The cause of this strange incident was due to the tree being struck by lightning.
A firefighter stated: “This morning, we received a call reporting a large tree on fire. But when we arrived, we were incredibly surprised to find that it was a tree with fire burning from the inside.”
Many people commented that it looked like a gateway to hell opening up on Earth. However, in reality, this was the result of a lightning strike.
Photo circulating on social media that garnered significant attention from netizens.
After some time trying to extinguish the fire, it did not go out completely. The fire department had to consider alternative solutions and decided to call in tree services to cut down the tree and completely extinguish the fire.
It is known that trees act like natural lightning rods, especially large and tall ones. The sap inside the tree serves as a better conductor than wood.
The temperature from a lightning strike is five times hotter than the sun, creating internal pressure that causes flames to erupt from within.
The photos circulating on social media received a lot of attention from netizens. “Is the gateway to hell real?”, “A beautiful yet terrifying natural masterpiece”, “The tree looks very bizarre”, “I have never seen a tree struck by lightning burn from the inside like this”, “Mother Nature always surprises humanity”, “The trunk looks like a pathway to the Upside Down, a parallel universe to the human world in the famous sci-fi series Stranger Things”… netizens commented.
