ORIGINAL! Bellingham Carolina & Grant St Tree Fire Explosion 10.03.09

[JoeyWillNihalTrio]

Go ahead and skip to 3:58

[DefenderofLindon]

Sap conducts. Charcoal conducts better. Flames conduct better still, but not as good as an electric arc.  The current just kept going up as the tree cooked more. Perfect positive feedback loop.

[GusenbauerAffe]

jeeeez that's awesome :D

[BoTMSapper]

God Love that end bit when the switching yard re routes the power back to the same tree... THUMBS UP

[jaholmes01]

Amazing! Did the other half of the tree survive, or did they take the whole thing down?

[BlackV4You]

ahhaha all quiet then all the sudden it starts again,,like OHHH shiTT! hahaha

[DrakoniStudio]

double hit to make sure XD

[bjaws2]

i had this happen in my back yard in Michigan. the damage was horrible as the tree collapsed and landed on the office of our home

[EdwardElric174]

look out that tree is on fire

[arsenalgunnerz]

I dont understand why the fuses didnt pop at the nearest substation??? definitely a fault somewhere along the lines there... unless America's electrical system is different to Australia's.

[wooley1996]

Please donate money to the save a tree organization so we can save these trees from going extinct

[hamsteradorable]

the poor tree

[empireoflizards]

The tree took a beating....but at the end of the vid, tree=1, powerline=0

[buckshotshawties]

I just called my fire department cause I saw the same thing but it was like your vid. @ 0:11. then when the lady answered the phone it quit lmao, holy crap they sent a shit load of fire trucks I feel so bad! hey you never know though shit! and there was plenty of shit to burn a wooden fence other trees the neighbors shed I feel bad as shit though for realz!

[zaxtor]

This tree is quite an excellent power conductor.

[WAdude84]

thats crazy shit



[Fourteen88SoCal]

hahaha I remember watching this video on Break.com when it was uploaded!

lol it's awesome every time

[OnnomonnomonnO]

04:01 - and phase to ground short circuit came :PP

[plateshutoverlock]

1) lethal ground currents in the vicinity of the tree

2) possible short from the high voltage to the 110v lines

3) a huge burning object above peoples homes.

A very bad situation indeed.

[bradmann85]

no marshmellows to go with this fire? 

[rossesc]

thats tree abuse!!!

[1Wiicked7]

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I lived 2 blocks away when this happened. I called 911 that day too. i FELT it too!!!

[2564651jcr]

shit u have power lines near houses above ground??????? what is this crazyness

[jessanexx]

that tree should of been long since taken out

[Indyrail]

Wonder how many amps the tree pulled?

[DJBlueX]

That is insanity! I remember hearing a loud buzz like this when a telephone junction box exploded about 60 meters from my house, it took out our electricity for a few hours and knocked out our telephone lines for a couple of days. A construction crew had to come in and dig up the street and repair the cables.

[youtubedude]

They always come back for one... last...scare.

[dunpeal21]

I would have started head banging.

[MaNiAcaLunchBox]

so its  a self trimming tree....awesome

[TheDylanJoyce]

Tree kinda looks like a hand touching the Wire

[sikkepossu]

Why the tree was that close to the power line? Unbelieveably stupid to grow trees like that.

[bobby38001]

Good riddance stupid tree! A good shrubbery with a path down the middle is all you need.

[Tankot2000]

Man. . . that dumbass tree. >_>;

[dar9713]

I like how the cb reconnect scared the crap out of them!

[denver376]

Fail!

[Xuhuang1991PT]

the tree survive? I bet that the night the neighbors' menu was fried pigeon and squirrel with fried potatoes :D

[cusanusnicolas]

That's why I left Bellingham in 1986.

[offamychain]

AMAZING how some people just can't grasp the simple idea of READING, even though the human race (well, MOST of us anyhow) have known how to do this amazing skill for, ohh, like 5,000 years or so. Definitely a prime example of the dumbing down of the world's population.

Good catch. I'm an electrician & worked as a serviceman with a utility for several years. I've seen many of these type things, but this is one of the best involving a tree.

[TheMrBlinx]

This just in. I just saw this clip used in "Nova Science Now". :-)

[Thargellor]

Spectacular!

[momotaro2001]

haha - the cameraman crapped himself when it exploded...

[n00dlez56]

only in america ur pizza delivery arrives faster than the fire dept

[kevinphoenix2007]

When I said, "It was lit up like a Christmas tree" I didn't mean like this! XD

[silvae1977]

Bear in mind that a volunteer fire department has to alert its members, they have to drive to the station from their offices, homes, or wherever they happen to be, suit up and then drive the trucks to the scene. That means about 8 to 10 minutes pass from the time of the 911 call to arriving on-scene. It can seem like a long time, but given all that has to transpire, its about as quick as can be expected.

[amper0003]

The relaying protection should have tripped the breakers at both ends of the line. Either relaying misoperated, or the settings were incorrect, or the tree impedance was too high causing the fault current be too low for the line protection to "feel" it. Then at 4:03 falling tree branch caused Phase-to-phase Fault which allowed relays to trip the breakers and stop arcing. Then in exactly 10 seconds, at 4:13 the breakers reclosed according to schedule..

I love it. This is classic.. ))

[jvghfv]

3:42 - end = best part!

[naytarpy]

that tree was owned by that cable...HA!

[Fojo586]

I laughed at 4:13 xD

[aurora990]

this video makes me wonder why are we letting environmentalists get in the way of public safety. it does not matter what type of tree it is, if it gets in the way of electrical service lines, it has to be trimmed or removed.

[Spoolooni]

that poor fucking tree.

[seansy59]

"Honey!, Have you've been watering that, it went up kinda fast"

[jacobislucas]

ever wonder how birds and squirrels can climb on thows whires, yet tree's and people die from them

[gmfreaky]

Fire+Electricity=BURNZZZ

[Andre21160]

I have seen some weird things in my life but I must say that was the shit hats off to you and the cameraman for getting this on video

[eloxaryy]

Those seconds when fire intensity visibly tunes to the current running through the tree are eerie kind of impressive. Not the mention the secondary electricity jolt and fire ignition... 0_o

[techoverload66]

That was frickin awesome, I wanna go find a big tree now, :)

[2biodude2]

Sweet

[breynolds1337]

AAAWWWEEEESSSSSOOOOOMMMMMEEEEE­!!!!!

[bloxxer33]

I feel sorry for that tree. :P

[redbaron9874]

This is what nature does to you if you mess with it.

[11minecraft11]

wel the tree is dead >__<

[Jacquee816]

and leo- i'm not white, but nice try at an insult.

[Jacquee816]

read the description before commenting.

[TheEcfc90]

um, why didn't you call the fire brigade before you started filming??

haha nice vid.

[MaTTDuD3]

lol at it starting randomly again xD

[leodejinro]

ah white people...amazed at everything shiny or destructive.

[dekon66]

nice

[ratpimples]

should have called the fire department

[ViktorTehRussian]

4:01

The tree divided by zero.....

....and teleported.

[DrsJacksonn]

4:09 It's over. Lol JK.

[cainorox]

04:08 SURPRISE BITCH IM BACK!!!!!!

[gluemonster300]

Poor trees!

[infinione]

what kilovoltage was is this power line?

[NTBushPilot]

'Geez, I'm glad thats over. That was getting out of hand..BUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[CommandoMomo]

Dude your fire department sucks. In that 4:48 minutes a house could have caught fire and exploaded just like the tree.

[thirday44]

The voltage is probably around 34,500 volts. Most circuits are set to 3 reset trips, so when the first explosion ocurred it tripped the breaker, then automaticaly reset, then the fire started back up. This circuirt looks to have locked out after the second trip. This is a good video for homeonwers who have trees near powerlines to see, so that they can understand the importance of line clearence.

[11kyzak11]

can anyone plz explain to me why the fire went out when the explosion happened then came back on like a light switch then turned itself back off???

[Jimpiedepimpie]

That tree is a spy! good job pyro!

[dmorgan0628]

I believe its called EMI I'm surprised it didnt effect the electronics he was using with all that interference.

[soundseeker63]

I'm not sure what anyone would expect the fire department to do with that. They're not going to hose it down while thats happening are they!?

[no1sailor]

Some poor bastard is gonna have one hell of an electric bill

[VicTheMouth]

That's epic how the arc just becomes ever stronger as time goes on.

[mtdeezy]

how did you happen to be recording at exactly the right moment?

[SafetyPins16]

4:33 IZ it dead?

[cam8x3]

hahaha 

[lataniereatofs]

4min 48 later, and no fireman ?

[faylinameir]

best part is "where the fuck is the fire department" lol

[jacksawild]

The question is: Was the tree there first or the power lines? Either way, planning failed but plasma tree win.

[appleslices2468]

that was bad AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSS­SSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!

[tbabo]

best tree ever

[roejames12]

That's awesome.

[localSickened]

looks like the firedepartment wasnt needed, they took 4ever till the fire went out

[HaloLvl43Legit]

Tree Selfdestruct System Initated!

[Lievcocijo]

and another proud piece of wood traves to 1955!!

[DrsJacksonn]

Electricity provides us with so much fun...

[songwriter1969]

How much power is on the line?

[williefleete]

HOLY CRAP. that scared the bajeebers outta me.

[weeardguy]

The high-pitched buzzing from the water that vaporises out of the wood is so incredibly funny. Nice vid... I laughed very hard when that thing started to arc again when the recloser came in again ;)

[TheKidzify]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

[0903390901]

04:08 SURPRISE

[rickardo004]

was this tree not there when the built the power lines? 

[800015934]

Epic!

[IAMDell2]

lol 4:06 FUCK YOU TREE

[c0rrupts3ct0r555]

thats a pretty light up tree. that power line pwned it. good catch and good video 5 stars. did it smell like burnt pine tree the whole time? lol good thing the recloser on the line tripped or we'd have a totally fried tree.

[hebneh]

That is a pretty darn kooky thing to be watching, I must say.

[TrevorLaneRay]

CRAZY FREAKING AWESOME!!!

Did the firefighting team wanna see the video?

[dwarfer777]

is that tree still there ... and alive?

[Peon546]

damn thats fuckin crazy

[AdamTensei]

ELECTRIC FIRE FORRRR THHHHEEEE WIIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!!

[V8Jagnut]

i think that tree is dry now.lol

[AllCarsAllTheTime2]

looks like you CAN'T prevent forrest fires.

[Aussie50]

wow thats cool!, its like a giant version of a microwave transformer frying a small plant :D

[TheBlud92]

4:04 the actual explosion !! :O

[F16pilot95]

poor tree,the did nothing to deserve this

[amear786]

woww love it cool looks like nice place lol poor tree xxx

[MUDSWAT]

When something like this happens and it blows the Circuit then they send a test bolt down the line and if it blows again then they send the workers out. So always expect 2 pops at the least and never touch anything even if you think its stopped.

[MUDSWAT]

That was cool.

[Xiox321]

3:58

[SantaFebuff]

At the end, the powerlines begin to short circuit. When it explodes, the circuit is cut. So, it sends out a test charge of full power and that was the end shock. Sorry to say, but you should have gone for shelter. That is extremely dangerous.

[clay180]

Remeber the branch falling onto pwr lines vid? You can hear the wining of current running through the branches, its only a matter of time before the whole tree breaks the space time continuum

[Kodiakgirl49]

man, just listen to it XD you can hear the electricity shocking the branch ROFL

[RichKnight2010]

Poor tree.

[MonkeySharingan]

Eh, the explosion only occurs because plants/trees, bamboos for instance, have air sacs that are trapped when the plant is developing. Expose anything that eats away the air sacs (fire) and youll create a vacuum. That vacuum then causes that explosion.

[CreationPhotography]

got Jesus ?

[Haqqer84]

Damn, it took the protection a while to operate, then at 4:13 the auto reclose sets it off again!

[derekwhite26]

Wow. That was actually ridiculously cool.

[OliFubar]

In the right place at the right time?

[letseeitplease]

that video was awesome, i liked it the best when you could start hearing the electricity going threw that tree and then the big booms,, yepp that was coollllllllll

thanks for posting your video,,

[crazysteig]

at 3;45 i heard buzzing

[aztecsword12]

I think the circuit from the wires to the ground was connected at about 3:30, as thats when you can hear the electricity starting to flow through the tree and the fire getting noticeably brighter/pulsating.

[zoadam]

Thanks for calling the Fire Dept. and the electrical company.

I wouldn't have been suprised if some dumbasses would just stand and watch in awe.

[knardi]

Tree vs. Power Lines. Tree wins.

[iminyourbasement]

the loud and sudden explosion of electricity was the high voltage capacitors discharging the energy to ground. the arc got brighter and louder because it was geting close to ground.

[jonesnjake]

I remember this! We were grabbin burritos at the burrito truck on State St. and saw the explosion from across town. I thought something blew up, like a factory. We got there right as the firetrucks were showin up. Pretty insane.

[TexasLonghornFan63]

kool

[mypureimagination]

this is so much better than the tree branch one thats about to go viral

[N4WWOLFFANG]

hold on... 4+ blocks away could 'feel' the electricity?!? 0.0

[Jacquee816]

No, they could feel the explosion, not the electricity.

[cg1725]

You were close to the explosion, how did it feel?

[nhdw]

4:13 = lol, every single time

[bdubeezy]

That's crazy. You can see the electricity making its way down the trunk towards the ground before it finally completes the circuit and shuts off. Then the back up system kicks in for one final scare. Good video.

[martinhaith1337]

"wheres the fire department?!" you have to call them you dumbass... they cant read your god damn mind...

[DubiousDrewski]

@martinhaith1337 They called the fire department at the beginning of the video...

[TheAnimal562]

@martinhaith1337 read the description genius

[ClownFlash]

@martinhaith1337

read the fucking description

[jgq85]

I would've climbed the tree to save all the baby birds instead of standing there laughing like a jackass.

[DjMomo359]

That's a pretty extreme way to get your KFC.

[NMoulana]

fucking sweeeeet

[Jacquee816]

FishFish458: Please read the description before you make a comment. If you had, you'd know the fire department was called by my husband and I as well as many other neighbours.

[Fishfish458]

The fire department doesn't really come unless you call them....

[brittney1dragon]

WOW did the tree fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jacquee816]

well... happy that they didn't have douche neighbours. probably not too happy about the tree.

[Jacquee816]

DKJIMI, thankfully we talked to them and they evacuated the house long before we started filming. so they were happy people.

[hdyudu]

that was some nasty electrical fire

[dkjimi]

If i came out of my house and saw my trees were on fire, and a bunch of my neighbors were filming it and even fucking CHEERING at points, I would not be a happy person. At all.

[gfpd2722]

The fire department is going to do nothing but watch it.

[play3393]

and prevent the fire from spreading to houses

[gfpd2722]

They will only if a house catches on fire but they will do nothing with the tree or power line until the power is diconected by the utility company

[104bigTruck]

good vid!

[Nivicoman]

Reclosers make 3 tries to see if the fault has cleared then lock out.

[Nivicoman]

You can hear the whistling of the sap boiling within then all the smoke and vapors touching off.

[Kdel086]

That was crazy!

[JJGeneral1]

"where's the fire department??"

are the volunteers? if that's the case, then it takes time for them to get TO the station, and then get TO the scene. besides, this wasn't endangering anything, and it really wasn't THAT big of a danger as long as everyone stayed away.

[xxxDeath9572xxx]

LOL! I like how it goes off the first time and everyone thinks its over, and then BOOM again and scares everyone, classic! Glad no one was hurt though

[DioHolyDiver83]

Sad Soo Sad When That Tree Got Bruned........

[Jacquee816]

no, it didn't light up again after the video was shut off.

[Jacquee816]

the video was filmed with my husbands cell phone.... since we were just passing by when this happened, we didn't have a high quality camera on us.

But thanks for the compliment about the video, otherwise.

[79Yamato]

One fascinating aspect is that you can hear the chirps made by the heated moist inside the wood that forces its way outside.

I wonder, did it light up one more time after the recording was shut off?

[79Yamato]

Poor video quality, sadly. Very sadly. For this is the most amazing arc video on YouTube! 5 Stars for this

[TwapsDutch]

Wooow, that power is sick!!!

[kodiak410a]

Cool video.

[Jacquee816]

Hey "fucktard" mcbillytalent, Read the description and the comments before you make a dumb comment.

[mcrbillytalent]

did they actually call 911 or be total fuck tards?

[TheDarkness71]

Mmmm..mmm..mmm, toasty!!!

[javier5124]

4:13 the tree turn back on