Mysterious Tree Burned From Inside

According to a media report, on April 2017, Mississippi was affected by serious weather conditions not a long time ago and there were several storms and tornados that wrecked the city. However, the weather produced a beautiful sight when lightning struck a wet tree and it started burning but only from the inside. After the storm passed, a photographer Janis Melton snapped a picture of the tree that is continuing to burn at the core but staying intact on the outside. Melton passed it on to Alabama meteorologist James Spann, who tweeted it out and went viral.

 

Interestingly, on October 2017, similar phenomenon occurred when Matthew McDermott was scoping out potential wildfire escape routes, he came across the tree with a blaze burning inside in Schellville, California.

 

People were keen to offer explanations for the bizarre phenomenon; saying that the heartwood or centre of the plant is dead and has very little moisture so is acting like a tinderbox.

But the outside sapwood is still alive and full of water so doesn’t catch.

This also explains how forest fires can start during rainy seasons as the tree harbours the flames until the surrounding woodland dries out, when it spreads.

Despite the perfectly reasonable explanation, the internet is still convinced there is something more sinister at work.

Sources:

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/tree-burns-from-the-inside-out-after-lightning-strike/81617

http://www.asianage.com/life/more-features/260417/twitterati-reacts-after-photo-of-a-burning-tree-goes-viral.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/what-happens-when-lightning-strikes-a-tree_uk_58fddd2ee4b06b9cb9182ecc

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/10/13/hollow-tree-fire-california-orig-trnd-lab.cnn/video/playlists/california-wildfires/

Pic Source:

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/tree-burns-from-the-inside-out-after-lightning-strike/81617

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/10/13/hollow-tree-fire-california-orig-trnd-lab.cnn/video/playlists/california-wildfires/