Southern California Hot Spot Hits 812 Degrees Fahrenheit

[cosmicalstorm]

That is pretty cool, I wonder how the hell that happens?

The ground is so hot in one part of Southern California it can melt the shoes right off your feet.

An unexplained "thermal anomaly" caused a patch of land in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, to reach a temperature of over 800 degrees on Friday, baffling experts who have been monitoring the area for weeks.

The anomaly was discovered after the land got so hot that it started a brush fire and burned three acres last month.

Firefighters were brought to the scene after reports of a blaze, but by the time they arrived only smoldering dirt and brush remained.

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Firefighters took no chances with the smoking ground, clearing brush near the fumes and cutting a fire line around the area to prevent a blaze from igniting.

"We are a little perplexed at this point, to tell you the truth," the Ventura County Star quoted geologist David Panaro as saying. "This is not your usual geological detective story."

The area has recorded high temperatures at least five times since 1987, Allen King, a retired geologist with the U.S. Forest Service told the newspaper.

The hot spot is located in steep, rugged terrain a few miles north of the town of Fillmore on land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and leased by Seneca Resources Corp.

Officials who are familiar with the patch of land, which is near the large Sespe Oil Field, have come up with a few theories as to why the ground soared to 812 degrees fahrenheit on August 1.

One theory is that natural hydrocarbons, such as oil or gas, are burning deep in the earth and seeping out through cracks in the area, causing the surface to rapidly heat and generate smoke.

According to the Star, Allen King, a former geologist with the U.S. Forest Service recently stuck a thermometer into the ground and got a reading of 550 degrees — so hot that it melted the glue holding the sole of his boots together.

"After that we were more cautious about standing in one place for too long," he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,398484,00.html

[Coyote]

There wouldn't be a fucking yet-unborn volcano percolating there... would there?

Geological activity is one thing, but this would be a bit much... I hope.

[Kanastrous]

Given that it's a Fox News report, I'm surprised no one suggested that it was one of the many gateways to hell that demons use to come and go and meddle with our gay-marriage-allowing, birth-control-permitting, sinful-Hollywood-movie-making California affairs.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Its not a volcano, the geology down there isn't right for it. Could be some crazy geothermal fissure, but my money is on some sort of crazy-ass minefire.

Of course, saying THAT explanation makes the most sense is about as meaningful as 'thinnest kid in fat camp'.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Its not a volcano, the geology down there isn't right for it. Could be some crazy geothermal fissure, but my money is on some sort of crazy-ass minefire.

Of course, saying THAT explanation makes the most sense is about as meaningful as 'thinnest kid in fat camp'.

Actually, burning hydrocarbons underground isn't all that infeasible. The Chinese, for example, have had coal fires burning underground unchecked for at least a century now.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Its not a volcano, the geology down there isn't right for it. Could be some crazy geothermal fissure, but my money is on some sort of crazy-ass minefire.

Of course, saying THAT explanation makes the most sense is about as meaningful as 'thinnest kid in fat camp'.

Actually, burning hydrocarbons underground isn't all that infeasible. The Chinese, for example, have had coal fires burning underground unchecked for at least a century now.

Oh, I know, we have that in America, too. Its just not the right part of the country for that.

[Solauren]

A freak set of circumstances could cause an underground mine-style fire naturally, could it not?

[CaptainChewbacca]

A freak set of circumstances could cause an underground mine-style fire naturally, could it not?

A lightning strike, a brushfire, or a careless camper, sure. The problem is there aren't large coal caverns in ventura county.

[Molyneux]

Alien artifact, Hellmouth, or robotic clone graveyard? Taking all bets, gentlemen, taking all bets!

Honestly that is extremely weird. How can we be sure that it's not an embryonic volcano? Maybe just a thin spot in the crust?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Question: Who the fuck uses Fahrenheit and why aren't they being flogged for being backwards morons?

This may, or may not, be a rhetorical question.

I'm inclined to say the anomaly is down to an alien death ray that just about ran out of steam by the time it reached our planet. Fear not, within the next few centuries, the more powerful beam will hit us, making our puny Earthling bodies burn. Or singe more sand, possibly.

[Imperial Overlord]

Question: Who the fuck uses Fahrenheit and why aren't they being flogged for being backwards morons?

This may, or may not, be a rhetorical question.

1) Americans

2) They get flogged by the Republican politicians they elect.