Mysterious Hot Spot Sparks Fire

Ok this strikes me as very strange....

"Scientists are puzzled by a mysterious Los Padres National Forest hot spot where 400-degree ground ignited a wildfire.

The hot spot was discovered by fire crews putting out a three-acre fire last summer in the forest's Dick Smith Wilderness.

'They saw fissures in the ground where they could feel a lot of heat coming out," Los Padres geologist Allen King said. "It was not characteristic of a normal fire.'"

Source: www.kron4.com...

This area offers a number of hot springs. There is obviously geothermal activity in the region and now something is superheating the ground. I know this may seem a bit off the wall but could we be looking at the formation of a new volcano? This area falls along the ring of fire and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for a new volcano to form somewhere along it. So why not here? 400+ degree ground temps look very suspicious.

The article claims they haven't found evidence of vulcanism but what in reality could do this? Just remember that the formation of a new volcano would be devistation to property values and this area is in relatively high rent district. Alot of money stands to be lost if people catch wind of something like this happening.

Well, that can't be good.

The hottest spot was 11 feet underground, at 584 degrees.

This can't be from a fault opening up to a typical geothermal well or such - they are around 3000 meters (around 10,000 to 13,000 ft) and only go about 290 C (around 554 F at bottom hole temperatures). To get to a bottom hole temperature of 584 F you'd have to go down to a depth of about 4000 - 5000 meters (13,000 to over 17,000 ft). (It's about 1 C for every 30 to 40 meters.) And that would just get you the 584 F down there! Now the steam has to come back to the surface as much as 17,000 ft - cooling all the way up!

Let's be conservative and say that it takes 500 meters (1600 ft) to cool it down 1 C on the way back up. That means this heat would have to be coming from a minimum death of around 4100 meters (13,500 ft).

Unless the heat source is rising! Lake a HOT MAWGMA!

This is really fascinating, but it looks like it's been going on for almost a year...is the spot still there?


[edit on 7/12/2005 by djohnsto77]

The thing is I can't find anything on this. Maybe I am searching for the wrong thing. Or maybe this has been really well silenced.

There is a video to the story here...

cbs5.com...

Why does listening to this guy talk remind me of Clinton talking about his lack of relations with Monica? This guy doesn't know what it is but knows it isn't a volcano. That is amazing work considering he only took temperature readings and the readings were consistant with a volcano.

So I looked up the definition of a volcano on dictionary.com

"An opening in the earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected."

In that respect he is right. It isn't a volcano.... yet.

Perhaps the reporter should have asked... "Could the hot spot be created by an intrusion of magma just below the surface?"

He isn't going to lie but he isn't going to offer up any information that could result in a crash in property values around the area.

Mag Ma.

Jeez, that must be frightening to the people there, only 11 feet and that hot beneth the ground

All this raises more questions for me. If this is indeed magma where is the other magma signatures like the gases? Based on the interview I suspect this guy hasn't sampled gases yet otherwise he'd have a better idea of what was going on. I know mixing old maga with new will create much more gas. Also it is possible that the rock isn't fractured enough in the area to allow the gases to escape. If this were true then you'd be looking at the possibility of a very explosive eruption when the time comes.

Anyone here live in the area that is willing to take a hike to the area and see first hand what is going on?

HAHA a porthole to hell. Loved that part. Well, IMO I think the earth is heating up from the inside out. What they are talking about kind of sounds like that area in Yellowstone...the swell in the middle of the lake out there. Didnt they say that its temp was about 400 degrees? I do not understand how it is not a volcano. Maybe there is something blocking the gasses from comming up. Oh well, I kind of like the port hole to hell theory.

Altogether now.......Molten Hot MAG- MA!!
MUWAHA, HA, HA, HA!

Another dreadful sign of Global Warming and impending doom methinks, but don't tell Bush, he'll give you the "Talk to the hand" treatment.

Actually, with the intense heat in UK right now, in my room of such small size, it feels like theres Magma seeping through my house floor. Either that or the suns having a fit.

I found that the lovely Linda Moulton Howe did a pretty decent interview.
There are even a few pics there...most info I've found so far..
There's even a theory that involves a chemical reaction.

www.earthfiles.com...

WOW!

The heat has dropped by only 19 degrees over the last year!

And they sent one of the rocks off for testing, so perhaps more information will be forthcoming.

They say that magma has been ruled out, and I wonder how they came to that conclusion. Someone on this thread mentioned gas, but there is such a thing as gas-poor magma.

The theory they're working with is that a chemical reaction between the exposed landslide material and oxygen led to the thermal release. I don't know if that's feasible...

I will be interested to know what results come back from the sample tested.

[Edit: I just read the last link posted, everything above I learned from that link. There's more too, those were just the bits that most interested me. Do take the time to read the link, it's very informative.]

[edit on 16-7-2005 by WyrdeOne]

I read this latest link as well and just like the other ones it smells of damage control for area property values. They admit their own hypothesis is weak but yet they rule out volcanic activity. Smart. What makes them so sure it isn't volcanic when their own idea doesn't pass their own initial tests? I think they only reason they are ruling out volcanic activity is because this is in the area of million dollar homes. Unless this area erupts I think its unlikely that we'll ever know what is really happening out there.

it reminds me af a town that was left unlivibele becus the cole mines
under it cought on fire and berned for years. I will look for a link.

found a link

search.yahoo.com...

Over 43 years and 40 million dollars later the fire still burns through old coal mines and veins under the town and the surrounding hillsides. The fire, smoke, fumes and toxic gases that came up through the back yards, basements and streets of Centralia practically ripped the town apart. Today Centralia is a near-ghost town with only a few remaining hold-outs who refused government offers of compensation.

search results


search.yahoo.com...

Anything new on the hot spots. I haven't heard anything for weeks. Are they gone? Have they stopped talking about them so no one panics. Update Please!