Over the last few days, I’ve had several people ask me about the forest fire that starts during a thunderstorm in The Legend of Hobart. Namely, did I mean for there to be a magical explanation for how this happens? The answer is no. No magic was needed. Because we have science!
The Power of Lightning
Lightning is a leading cause of wild fires. “‘Even conventional, rainy thunderstorms can lead to fires,’ said Neil Lareau, a professor of physics at the University of Nevada, Reno.” Because lightning strikes carry so much explosive heat, they can start fires in wet conditions, even in the middle of a rainstorm (New York Times, 2020).
So while there is magic in The Legend of Hobart, the forest fire is caused by a natural phenomenon, not a magical one.