Frontcountry Lightning risk ManageMent No place outside is safe from lightning. Frontcountry includes outdoor settings that are within a 30-minute walk of modern buildings or vehicles. This is where most lightning injuries occur because this is where people spend more time outdoors.

take these siMpLe precautions to stay Much saFer FroM the Lightning hazard:

Get in a modern, enclosed building or a metal-topped vehicle if you hear thunder. Look up “Faraday cage” to see why this is so

helpful and why the vehicle needs a metal roof to protect you.

Avoid open shelters (like gazebos) and tall trees.

Time your visits to high-risk areas with local weather patterns, so you aren’t in a high-risk area at a high-risk time.

how Lightning hurts usA lightning strike in a crowded stadium is hazardous out to roughly 50 feet from the strike point, with one or two fatalities and dozens of injuries. People are occasionally injured 100 feet away from a strike. This is roughly equivalent to the kill radius and injury radius of a hand grenade. The mechanisms that hurt us are the millions of volts of electricity, the heat, and the thunderous blast from the rapidly expanding air.

Ground current occurs with each strike. You can minimize your exposure to ground current by keeping your feet close together, especially avoiding lying flat on the ground. Ground current con-tributes to half of lightning fatalities (Fig. 1). This is the primary mechanism where we can easily reduce lightning risks.

Side flash jumps from tall objects like trees when they are struck by lightning, so don’t seek shelter near tall trees, other tall objects, or tall vertical surfaces.

Contact is from touching long conductors like railings, cables, and fences. Conduct a web search for dead cow lightning to see morbid images of contact and sideflash.

Upward leaders emanate from high ground and tall objects when downward leaders approach the ground: even if they don’t connect with a downward leader, they can be fatal.

Direct strikes cause about 3-5 percent of lightning fatalities. Avoid high places and open ground to decrease risk of a direct strike.

The explosive force of lightning can cause blunt trauma resulting in fractures or soft tissue injuries.

We should primarily focus our efforts on avoiding ground current and side flash.

WHEN THUNDER ROARS

GO INDOORS! www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov

First aid For Lightning VictiMsThe mechanisms that hurt us are electricity,

heat, and the air blast. These cause many different kinds of neurological problems, burns, and trauma. treatMent principLes

Scene Safety: Avoid further injuries. It may be safer to wait for the storm to pass before treating victims in extremely hazardous locations.

Basic Life Support: Be prepared to provide rescue breathing.

Triage: Unlike normal triage protocols, attend first to those who are in cardiac or respiratory arrest without obvious lethal injury.

Assessment: All patients require a complete body survey and careful evaluation for head, spinal, long bone, or cardiac injuries. Assess peripheral pulses, and sensory and motor status. Check the skin for small hidden burns.

Monitor for cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological problems.

Evacuate anyone obviously injured by lightning. Be alert for lingering issues that need further evaluation and treatment. Survivors could be disoriented or confused. Their decision-making ability (including judg-ment, direction finding, and planning) could be dangerously impaired.

how Lightning kiLLs

websites about Lightning

National Weather Service Lightning Safety: www.lightningsafety.noaa.govNOLS Backcountry Lightning Risk Management: www.nols.edu/lightning Medical Aspects of Lightning: www.uic.edu/labs/lightninginjuryLightning Safety for Boaters: www.wrh.noaa.gov/vef/boatersafety.php#lightningYoutube keywords for waiting for the storm to pass: (use wireless devices) lightning strike tree, car, or plane; Faraday cage; lightning on the lawn

First Aid

LIGHTNING

Fig 1. Ground current causes about half of all lightning injuries. A difference in voltage drives current through us. In this simplified illustration the cow has a 100,000-volt differential, one farmer has a 50,000-volt differential, and the other farmer has her feet together so her voltage difference is minimal.

Fig 2. The frequencies of the primary lightning fatality mechanisms.

upward Leaderscontact

direct strikes

ground current

side FLash

FOR BACKCOUNTRY CAM

PERS AND HIKERS

RISK MANAGEM

ENT

1 2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

John Gookin 2012hundreds of th

ousands o

f volts

vvv

vvv

If this cow has 800kV at the front feet and 700kV at the back feet, the 100kV difference drives electrons in one leg, across the torso, and out the other legs.

Back

coun

try s

ettin

gs a

re a

t lea

st a

30-

min

ute

wa

lk fro

m th

e ne

ares

t veh

icles

or m

oder

n bu

ildin

gs,

wher

e yo

u ca

n ea

sily

find

safe

she

lter.

Ther

e ar

e fo

ur a

ctio

ns th

at c

an re

duce

you

r lig

htni

ng ri

sk in

the

back

coun

try, b

ut n

one

of th

em c

an m

ake

you

as s

afe

as g

ettin

g in

a m

oder

n bu

ildin

g or

a m

etal

-topp

ed

vehi

cle. T

hese

beh

avio

rs a

re lis

ted

in o

rder

, and

ea

ch is

roug

hly

twice

as

impo

rtant

as

the

next

.

1. T

IME

YOUR

VIS

ITS

TO H

IGH-

RISK

ARE

AS

WIT

H LO

CAL

WEA

THER

PAT

TERN

S.Ti

min

g ac

tiviti

es w

ith s

afe

weat

her r

equi

res

know

ledg

e of

bot

h ty

pica

l and

rece

nt lo

cal w

eath

er

patte

rns.

The

re is

no

such

thin

g as

a s

urpr

ise o

r fre

ak

stor

m. Y

ou m

ust s

et tu

rnar

ound

tim

es th

at w

ill ge

t you

of

f of e

xpos

ed te

rrain

bef

ore

stor

ms

arriv

e. Y

ou n

eed

to o

bser

ve th

e ch

angi

ng w

eath

er a

nd d

iscus

s its

st

atus

with

you

r gro

up. I

f you

hav

e lo

gist

ical d

elay

s,

you

may

nee

d to

cha

nge

your

pla

n ra

ther

than

su

mm

iting

a pe

ak o

r cro

ssin

g op

en g

roun

d du

ring

a th

unde

rsto

rm. B

egin

you

r tur

naro

und

if yo

u he

ar th

un-

der (

which

mea

ns lig

htni

ng is

less

than

10

mile

s aw

ay).

2. F

IND

SAFE

R TE

RRAI

N IF

YOU

HE

AR T

HUND

ER.

Safe

r ter

rain

in th

e ba

ckco

untry

can

dec

reas

e yo

ur

chan

ces

of b

eing

stru

ck. L

ight

ning

tend

s to

hit

high

po

ints

and

the

surro

undi

ng te

rrain

. Avo

id p

eaks

, rid

ges,

and

sig

nific

antly

hig

her g

roun

d du

ring

an

elec

trica

l sto

rm. I

f you

hav

e a

choi

ce, d

esce

nd a

m

ount

ain

on th

e sid

e th

at h

as n

o clo

uds

over

it,

since

stri

kes

tend

to b

e le

ss fr

eque

nt o

n th

at s

ide

un

til th

e clo

uds

mov

e ov

er it

. Onc

e yo

u ge

t dow

n to

low,

rollin

g te

rrain

, stri

kes

are

so ra

ndom

you

sh

ould

n’t w

orry

abo

ut te

rrain

as

muc

h. M

ove

to s

afer

te

rrain

as

soon

as

you

hear

thun

der,

not w

hen

the

stor

m is

upo

n yo

u.

Sele

ct te

nt s

ites

that

may

redu

ce y

our c

hanc

es o

f be

ing

stru

ck o

r affe

cted

by

grou

nd c

urre

nt. I

f you

are

in

a te

nt in

“saf

er te

rrain

” and

you

hea

r thu

nder

, you

at

leas

t nee

d to

be

in th

e lig

htni

ng p

ositio

n. L

ying

flat

incr

ease

s th

e ris

k of

inju

ry b

y gr

ound

cur

rent

.

If yo

ur te

nt is

in a

mor

e da

nger

ous

loca

tion,

su

ch a

s on

a ri

dge,

in a

bro

ad o

pen

area

, or n

ear

a ta

ll tre

e, y

ou m

ust e

xit th

e te

nt a

nd g

et to

saf

er

terra

in b

efor

e th

e st

orm

arri

ves,

and

sta

y th

ere

un

til it

has

pass

ed.

In g

ently

rolli

ng h

ills,

low

er fl

at a

reas

are

not

sa

fer t

han

the

high

er fl

at a

reas

bec

ause

non

e of

the

gent

le te

rrain

attr

acts

lead

ers.

Stri

kes

are

rand

om in

th

is te

rrain

. Loo

k fo

r a d

ry ra

vine

or o

ther

sig

nific

ant

dep r

essio

n to

redu

ce ri

sk.

The

flash

-ban

g ra

ngin

g sy

stem

mea

sure

s ho

w fa

r aw

ay a

thun

ders

torm

is, b

ut s

omet

imes

it is

impo

s-sib

le to

tell w

hich

flas

h is

asso

ciate

d wi

th w

hich

ban

g.

The

flash

of l

ight

trav

els

fast

eno

ugh

that

it is

virt

ually

in

stan

tane

ous.

The

sou

nd tr

avel

s a

mile

eve

ry fi

ve

seco

nds

(1km

/3 s

ec) s

o id

eally

you

just

cou

nt th

e nu

mbe

r of s

econ

ds b

etwe

en th

e ob

vious

flas

h an

d th

e ob

vious

ban

g, a

nd d

ivide

by

five

to d

eter

min

e ho

w m

any

mile

s aw

ay th

e st

orm

is. D

ivide

the

time

by

thre

e to

see

how

man

y kil

omet

ers

dist

ant t

he s

torm

is.

Do

not s

take

you

r life

on

the

relia

bility

of t

his

ra

ngin

g sy

stem

.

3. A

VOID

TRE

ES A

ND L

ONG

COND

UCTO

RS

ONCE

LIG

HTNI

NG G

ETS

CLOS

E.

W

ide

open

gro

und

offe

rs h

igh

expo

sure

to lig

htni

ng.

Avoi

d tre

es a

nd b

ushe

s th

at ri

se a

bove

oth

ers,

sin

ce

the

high

est o

bjec

ts te

nd to

gen

erat

e up

ward

lead

-er

s. Y

our b

est b

et is

to lo

ok fo

r an

obvio

us ra

vine

or

depr

essio

n be

fore

the

stor

m h

its, t

hen

spre

ad o

ut y

our

grou

p at

20

foot

(7m

) int

erva

ls to

redu

ce th

e ris

k of

m

ultip

le in

jurie

s. A

ssum

e th

e lig

htni

ng p

ositio

n.

Cave

rs (F

ig. 3

) sho

uld

avoi

d ca

ve e

ntra

nces

dur

ing

thun

ders

torm

s. S

mal

l ove

rhan

gs c

an a

llow

arcs

to

cro

ss th

e ga

p. N

atur

al c

aves

that

go

far i

nto

the

grou

nd c

an b

e st

ruck

, eith

er v

ia th

e en

tranc

e or

th

roug

h th

e gr

ound

. Peo

ple

have

bee

n sh

ocke

d st

andi

ng in

wat

er h

alf a

mile

insid

e ca

ves.

If y

ou a

re

cavin

g ne

ar a

n en

tranc

e du

ring

elec

trica

l act

ivity,

do

n’t s

tand

in w

ater

, avo

id m

etal

con

duct

ors

like

lad-

ders

, cab

les,

and

railin

gs, a

nd a

void

brid

ging

the

gap

betw

een

ceilin

g an

d flo

or.

Boat

ers

need

to s

tart

getti

ng o

ff th

e wa

ter l

ong

befo

re a

sto

rm a

rrive

s. A

void

tall t

rees

nea

r the

edg

e of

the

wate

r.

4. G

ET IN

THE

LIG

HTNI

NG P

OSIT

ION

IF L

IGHT

NING

IS

STR

IKIN

G NE

ARBY

AND

YOU

CAN

’T G

ET T

O SA

FER

TERR

AIN.

The

light

ning

pos

ition

(Fig

. 4) i

s fo

r wai

ting

out

stor

ms

in s

tatio

nary

situ

atio

ns w

hen

it is

impr

actic

al

to m

ove

to a

saf

er lo

catio

n. It

is im

porta

nt to

redu

ce

your

ove

rall f

ootp

rint o

n th

e gr

ound

(Fig

.1).

3

John

Goo

kin

v.6M

ar20

12

redu

cing

Lig

htni

ng r

isk

in t

he b

ackc

ount

ry

back

coun

try

Ligh

tnin

g ri

sk M

anag

eMen

tNo

pla

ce o

utdo

ors

is s

afe

from

ligh

tnin

g. L

ight

ning

is a

n ob

ject

ive

haza

rd. Y

our b

ehav

ior c

an re

duce

the

risk

of th

at h

azar

d ha

rmin

g yo

u.

Desce

nt Rou

te

(Gull

ies ar

e bett

er tha

n ridg

es)

2

2

0

0

1

1

1

1

1

1

11

1

3

3

3

Wid

e op

en a

rea

extre

mel

y da

nger

ous:

Avo

id th

ese

area

s if

ther

e ar

e an

y

sign

s of

thun

ders

torm

s.

high

-ris

k: L

eave

thes

e ar

eas

befo

re a

sto

rm h

its. M

ove

thro

ugh

high

-ris

k te

rrai

n qu

ickl

y to

redu

ce

expo

sure

tim

e. H

igh-

risk

area

s in

clud

e:–

On o

r nea

r hig

h te

rrai

n lik

e pe

aks

and

ridge

s–

On o

r nea

r tal

l obj

ects

like

rela

-tiv

ely

talle

r tre

es–

On th

e w

indw

ard

side

of m

oun-

tain

s, w

here

the

stor

ms

com

e fro

m–

On b

oats

, on

open

wat

er, a

nd n

ear

trees

at t

he e

dge

of o

pen

wat

er

Leas

t obj

ectio

nabl

e al

tern

ativ

es,

but s

till m

uch

riski

er th

an in

side

of

mod

ern

build

ings

.

It is

ver

y sa

fe in

side

a m

oder

n bu

ild-

ing

if yo

u av

oid

met

al c

ondu

ctor

s.

Getti

ng in

side

an

encl

osed

met

al-

topp

ed v

ehic

le c

an a

void

man

y lig

htni

ng h

azar

ds.

terr

ain

Ligh

tnin

g sa

Fety

haz

ards

10

23

10

as s

aFe

as p

ossi

bLe

01

23

10

Fig

3. O

verh

angs

, ro

ck s

helte

rs, a

nd

cave

ent

ranc

es a

re

espe

cial

ly h

azar

dous

be

caus

e lig

htni

ng

trave

ls a

long

ver

tical

su

rface

s to

see

k th

e gr

ound

. Whe

n lig

ht-

ning

jum

ps a

gap

, any

ob

ject

brid

ging

that

ga

p ca

n he

lp c

ondu

ct

the

curre

nt. S

tand

ing

near

the

edge

of a

n ov

erha

ng is

ext

rem

ely

dang

erou

s du

ring

a th

unde

rsto

rm. T

his

even

incl

udes

sta

nd-

ing

on th

e po

rch

of a

bu

ildin

g w

here

you

co

uld

help

con

duct

cu

rrent

acr

oss

the

open

gap

at t

he e

dge.

Fig.

4 L

ight

ning

pos

ition

s: P

ut y

our f

eet t

oget

her t

o sig

nific

antly

redu

ce th

e ef

fect

s of

gro

und

curre

nt. I

f you

ha

ve a

foam

pad

to s

tand

on

or a

pac

k to

sit

on, g

et o

n it.

Cro

uch

or s

it to

slig

htly

redu

ce th

e ef

fect

s of

sid

e fla

sh

and

upwa

rd le

ader

s.

Low

saF

ety/

hi

gh-r

isk