An Odyssey of Lightning, Glass and 38 Years

480sparky · Apr 17, 2013

In July of 1979, I was attending a family reunion along the banks of the Pecos River east of Santa Fe, at a privately-owned cabin at the base of Rosilla Peak. At around 2:30 in the morning of the 23rd, in the midst of a storm, everyone was awakened by the crack of a nearby lighting strike.

In the dark of the cabin, we were concerned about a fire as we could smell smoke. A cursory examination of the cabin, however, found the fears without merit.

However, upon sunrise, we discovered just how close to the strike we were. About 300 feet from the cabin, a mature Douglas Fir had taken a direct hit. The lightning had cork-screwed around the tree almost the entire trunk of it.

As far as we could see, the bark had been sheared off the tree along a spiral path from the very top to about 20 feet from the ground. From that point, the lightning had left the tree and made contact with the ground.

Amidst the charred ground, we found several pieces of glass caused by the heat of the strike as it passed through the sandy soil. I was lucky enough to find my own sample, and have kept it as a reminder of that night. I also took the shot above with the only camera available.... a Polaroid.

The other day, I came across that piece of glass, and decided to bring it together with the old photo for the first time in 38 years.

The glass measures roughly 3/4" diameter and 3/8" thick.

A couple years later, the tree died from the strike. The owner brought in a portable sawmill company, and they cut it up and used the lumber to make a new bridge across the Pecos River to the cabin.