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Natural Fires

المؤلف:  Max M. Houck، Jay A. Siegel

المصدر:  Fundamentals of Forensic Science

الجزء والصفحة:  p457-458

2026-08-20

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Natural Fires

The vast majority of natural fires are caused by lightning strikes. There are thousands of fires started by lightning every year. In many places in the United States, there are more lightning fires than all other types combined. Lightning may also be the proximal cause of a fire even if it doesn’t actually start the fire itself. For example, lightning can strike the electrical lines leading into a building, causing an overload that in turn may cause an electrical fire. See Figure 1 for damage from a lightning fire. There are a few other types of naturally occurring fires. For example, flammable gases that escape from the ground around an oilfield and combust could be considered to be a natural fire, although these are often considered to be accidental, especially if there is an attempt to control the discharge of these gases and they ignite accidentally.

FIGURE 1 The gaping hole in this house was caused by lightning. When it struck the house, it caused a major fire and extensive damage. Such direct hits on buildings, especially those with lightning rods, are relatively rare.