BlackRockBigfoot Posted September 7, 2021 Posted September 7, 2021 https://www.ktvu.com/news/lightning-possibly-caused-death-of-family-hiking-near-yosemite They are now looking into whether or not a lightning strike killed this family… even though there is no visible signs of trauma. I posted a link earlier in this thread about 500 sheep being found dead of no apparent cause overseas in Georgia. The shepherd is claiming that they were struck by lightning and that he was knocked unconscious by the same lightning strike. However, there is no apparent sign of any visible trauma on those sheep. Apparently, a government official suggested a lightning strike as the culprit, and the farmer is running with that because he could then be compensated for his loss. However, other officials are saying that there is no indication of lightning being the cause of death. Now, a freak lightning strike that leaves no visible damage or trauma is also being suggested as the cause of death here. The shepherd is claiming that he saw a flash of light, and woke up to find up to 550 sheep dead. The pictures online show sheep with no burns or injuries. Then, a family and pet found dead in California…with no obvious cause of death. And now a lighting strike is being investigated here as well.
VAfooter Posted September 7, 2021 Admin Posted September 7, 2021 I find it very hard to believe that a lightning strike could kill three people and a dog, and leave no visible trace of it occurring, either on the victims or on the surround terrain. Maybe it was lightning, but they are going to need some pretty strong evidence to prove it in my opinion.
Wolfjewel Posted September 7, 2021 Posted September 7, 2021 I think the authorities will need strong evidence no matter what the reason for the deaths. It’s likely that many people will doubt the results, and mystery will surround this case for quite a while. For the safety of any other hikers who venture to that area after they are allowed in, I hope something concrete can be determined. Citizens living near the area (or anywhere for that matter) should be proactive in demanding extreme rigor. 1
WSA Posted September 8, 2021 Posted September 8, 2021 Lightning is not to be ruled out at this point, I don’t think. The common idea is that you are either burnt to a crisp by lightning or left untouched is probably not an accurate binary description. I have a close friend who, along with four companions, was struck stupid by a nearby strike on a GA mountain bald. They were knocked senseless and paralyzed for an uncertain amount of time. None were otherwise injured. A little closer and maybe their hearts would have stopped beating, but they otherwise would have appeared to be untouched? I suspect there is a “sweet spot” for this to happen, and the variables would be almost too many to account for. Local meteorological data would be the first stop to shop.
WSA Posted September 8, 2021 Posted September 8, 2021 I should add, that incident happened during a snow storm. This friend had two other incidents as well. He had a close call when a bolt struck his sailboat and leapt from his mast to another boat’s. The last was when I was standing next to him under a rock ledge waiting out a thunder storm at about 4,000’ in the Blue Ridge. He got a jolt from a nearby strike that made him jump and cry out. I didn’t feel anything but the shockwave and the flash.
NCBFr Posted September 8, 2021 Posted September 8, 2021 3 hours ago, WSA said: Lightning is not to be ruled out at this point, I don’t think. The common idea is that you are either burnt to a crisp by lightning or left untouched is probably not an accurate binary description. I have a close friend who, along with four companions, was struck stupid by a nearby strike on a GA mountain bald. They were knocked senseless and paralyzed for an uncertain amount of time. None were otherwise injured. A little closer and maybe their hearts would have stopped beating, but they otherwise would have appeared to be untouched? I suspect there is a “sweet spot” for this to happen, and the variables would be almost too many to account for. Local meteorological data would be the first stop to shop. That is correct. Doesn't take too much current across the heart to stop it. However, with the weather radar available today, they should be able to easily check to see if there were any strikes in the area during that time frame.
Catmandoo Posted September 8, 2021 Posted September 8, 2021 WSA, DO NOT STAND NEXT to your close friend. Some people are 'magnets' for disaster. There was a lightning event in Washington State where lightning struck a steel-roofed warehouse, traveled down a steel post and jumped to a human. 'Magnetic personality' in action. I wonder about footwear in these cases. Humans wear shoes and some types 'ground' the wearer better than others. Animals are normally grounded. Taser devices do not work on a barefoot person because they are grounded. 18 minutes ago, NCBFr said: Doesn't take too much current across the heart to stop it The last place where I worked was serious about electrical shocks. If a worker received a shock from for example a power tool or electrical cord, they were sent to an ER by ambulance for an EKG regardless of how they felt.
VAfooter Posted September 9, 2021 Admin Posted September 9, 2021 The reports states that it looks as if the husband and baby had sit down for a rest. The mom was 20-30 feet away, but they do not describe how she was found. Nor does it say if she was in view of the other two. I would like to know if there were thunderstorms in the area or even just lightning around. I would also think that there might be some damage to the cell phone if this was a lightning incident. I would think that the positions of the bodies might have been different if they had hit by lightning. Of course, I suppose they could have been seated at the time it struck.
Catmandoo Posted September 9, 2021 Posted September 9, 2021 We will have to wait for the results from the primary and secondary investigations. This tragedy is confusing. The temperature range was 103 to 109 degrees. Unusual time of year to hike this area as the wildflower bloom is long over with. Lightning strikes the Earth 50-100 times per second. We live on a big battery and that includes the oceans. Those who seek gemstones at high altitudes (Colorado ) receive the wrath of "high-altitude lightning". The family was at a relatively low altitude. And what about the dog? Seems like the dog did not run away.
VAfooter Posted September 9, 2021 Admin Posted September 9, 2021 Yes, so many oddities about this one. I do hope that we get answers in the end and it is not left as unsolved. 1
NCBFr Posted September 9, 2021 Posted September 9, 2021 21 hours ago, Catmandoo said: WSA, DO NOT STAND NEXT to your close friend. Some people are 'magnets' for disaster. There was a lightning event in Washington State where lightning struck a steel-roofed warehouse, traveled down a steel post and jumped to a human. 'Magnetic personality' in action. I wonder about footwear in these cases. Humans wear shoes and some types 'ground' the wearer better than others. Animals are normally grounded. Taser devices do not work on a barefoot person because they are grounded. The last place where I worked was serious about electrical shocks. If a worker received a shock from for example a power tool or electrical cord, they were sent to an ER by ambulance for an EKG regardless of how they felt. In my early days I worked on a system that contained a couple +/- 150V power supplies. The rule was never to have both hands touching something while working on it as the charge would run across your body and potentially stop the heart. If you had one hand in the air the charge would run down your body and while it would sting, it would not kill you. There was one guy in the field that could accurately measure the voltage of a device by how far the charge went down his arm.
BlackRockBigfoot Posted September 9, 2021 Posted September 9, 2021 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/likely-case-what-happened-gerrish-chung-devils-gulch-sierra-liang This guy makes a case for a murder/suicide. Not saying that I agree with him. Merely posting this because he had put some thought into this.
VAfooter Posted September 9, 2021 Admin Posted September 9, 2021 No indications from the article that they were under any duress that would initiate suicide and/or murder. I guess we are going to have to wait for the toxicology results to come back to be sure. Law enforcement are studying everything about them I am certain to come up with motives in case it is a murder/suicide case. At this point, I may not agree with the guy, but I cannot disagree either until we have some more information to go on. Of course, hopefully they will not call it a murder/suicide just to cover up the fact that they cannot determine the cause of death. Or that they can determine the cause and they do not want to tell the public...
hiflier Posted September 10, 2021 Posted September 10, 2021 On 9/7/2021 at 5:54 PM, VAfooter said: I find it very hard to believe that a lightning strike could kill three people and a dog, and leave no visible trace of it occurring, either on the victims or on the surround terrain. Maybe it was lightning, but they are going to need some pretty strong evidence to prove it in my opinion. There were no storms around then to cause any lightning. What there was (Aug.17th) were very warm temperatures. The wind for the most part were under 10 mph but at around 5:00 pm the wind did reach 10 mph and a curious gust to 18 mph. then calm again for about an hour or so. then back up to 15-17 mph for roughly an hour or more. My thinking being could the warm temps at that time with a 18 mph wind have stirred up enough dust to suffocate someone? It probably would have affected other people on the trail, however, if that was the case. Pretty far fetched idea but until more is known that was the only weather anomaly i could find. The highest temperature and the highest wind gust both occurring at around the same time? And then, under the conditions, there could be a serious dehydration factor at work (only a mile from their truck? The next day (Aug 18th) was a bit cooler and did not see such a wind gust.
hiflier Posted September 10, 2021 Posted September 10, 2021 None of the above should affect the dog however. (is there a reason the "Submit Reply" feature takes so long to post? Editing capability times out sometimes as well)
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