Lightning passing through a house will often 'branch' and utilize more than one path to ground at a time. AT RIGHT: Lightning strikes a tree and house in Charleston, West Virginia in 1998. Lightning doesn't need conductive objects to reach ground, however - it's just forged its way through miles of air, so conductive objects in a house are a mere 'convenience' that it will use if they are available. This can include gas and water pipes, electric lines, phone lines, cable TV/internet lines, gutters, downspouts, metal window frames - anything conductive in a house is 'fair game' for the lightning to follow.
Most houses are filled with many potential routes for lightning to follow in its journey. These fires inside enclosed spaces may not be visible in their beginning stages.Ī cloud-to-ground lightning bolt's main objective is to find the path of least resistance from the cloud to deep into the ground.
It is common for lightning to start fires in the attic and within walls of homes. If you know your house has just been hit directly by lightning, call the fire department.
