My tree was struck by lightning. Will it survive?
For a struck hardwood, the question is how bad the strike was: NC State Extension's gardener handbook says strikes vary in severity, some causing internal damage that may not show until years later and severe ones leaving bark hanging in strips. A struck pine raises a second question, because Extension lists lightning strikes among the stresses that predispose pines to Ips engraver beetle attack.
A severe strike can burn the tree or bare its wood
A strike's marks depend on its force. NC State Extension's gardener handbook says severe strikes may even set the tree on fire, and its entry on bark shedding names lightning among the possible causes when bare wood, not more bark, is exposed, a split bark peeling off a tree also draws.
One strike, with damage that can surface years later
NC State Extension's gardener handbook gives lightning two clocks. Its diagnostics chapter calls a strike a nonliving problem: "the damage is done all at once and shows up over a short period of time." Its woody-plant chapter adds that a bolt passing through a trunk "may cause internal damage, but the tree may not develop visible symptoms until years later," and it counts insects and diseases as usually secondary problems that follow a stress.
A struck tree that looks fine this season may still be hiding damage. Damaged limbs in the crown are tree trimming and pruning work, and a struck tree failing over a roof is a case for tree removal.
A struck pine is a beetle question too
Pines carry a second risk after a strike. Extension's pine bark beetle factsheet names lightning strikes beside drought and storm damage as common stress agents for Ips engraver beetles, and the NC Forest Service calls Ips opportunists, naming lightning among the natural stressors that often precede their attacks. The beetle side of it continues on pines after a storm.
How long is the strike line, and does bark hang in strips?
Questions people actually ask.
Can lightning damage spread, in the tree or to its neighbors?
Not the strike damage itself. NC State Extension's gardener handbook says nonliving problems do not spread, and the NC Forest Service says lightning disorders "are not infectious and cannot be transmitted from one tree to another." A struck pine's beetles are another matter.
Should loose bark come off a tree after a strike?
For a strike that did only a small amount of damage, NC State Extension's gardener handbook says to "remove loose bark and damaged branches and provide excellent care" to minimize stress, and to "Have an arborist assess the tree." Branches out of reach from the ground are tree work.
Is a lightning strike ever fatal to a tree?
Yes. Lightning strikes, fire and high temperatures can damage or even kill a plant, NC State Extension's gardener handbook says.
Who looks at a pine for beetles after a strike?
The NC Forest Service county ranger, whom the Forest Service's post on Ips engraver beetles tells readers to call for help reading a pine.