Surreal pillar of fire dances atop Tennessee lawn after storm. This is what caused it

A pillar of fire erupted on a manicured lawn in East Tennessee this week, and experts say it happened after a bolt of lightning defied odds and struck a buried gas line.

It happened April 12 in Knoxville, and the Knoxville Fire Department extinguished the fire without damage to nearby homes. The department said it confirmed the highly unlikely cause after conferring with the Knoxville Utilities Board.

Multiple photos shared on social media show the writhing pillar reached up to 20 feet tall, rivaling the height of an average two-story home.

Knoxville Realtor Kimberly Wright reported she is the homeowner and tweeted “there is a large crater in my yard leading to our meter.” She did not report any damage to the home.

“A hearty thank you to the Knoxville Fire Department for keeping the flames from my house, and to KUB for taking care of the gas line that was struck,” she wrote on Facebook.

The standard depth for gas lines is about 18 inches, but some can be as deep as 60 inches, the utilities board says.

Commenters on social media questioned the lightning-strike theory, noting a nearby tree was a more likely lightning target.

However, strikes are notorious for traveling great distances during a storm, experts say.

“The lightning may hit a tree then branch off and hit something else, or after the current travels through the tree trunk, it can also travel through the immediately surrounding area, and into anything or anyone nearby,” according to the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory.

“In urban areas, it may strike a pole or tree and the current then travels to several nearby houses and other structures and enter them through wiring or plumbing.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Surreal pillar of fire dances atop Tennessee lawn after storm. This is what caused it."