Is this our future? Lightning could spark more California fires as world warms

WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS DON’T admit to fearing much, but lightning is one terror that even the most experienced veterans say they hope to never encounter.

The worry  is not being struck by a bolt, although it can be deadly. Instead, their primary concern is that lightning, slashing down in remote areas, can trigger unseen fires that smolder for days before they flare up, bursting into a dangerous and difficult-to-fight wildfire.