Expert: Bill Cissna Date: 6/15/2008 Subject: Peat Bog Fires/Light Inside Vehicles
Question Hello Bill,
I was driving a semi tractor rig for an unload in Tarboro, N.C. & a reload in Washington, N.C. this past Friday.
While travelling from Tarboro towards Washington I saw all this smoke everywhere. At Washington, they told me it was some peat moss and forests burning about 40 mi. to the East caused by a lightning strike I believe. One man said it occurs about every 4 years or so.
The strange thing which I noticed when travelling down the highway in this area is that there appeared to be a small bright light,somewhat like a strong candle or carbon-arc light like some fishermen & miners wear,burning inside about 70 percent of the vehicles I observed in the oncoming traffic. I couldn't tell whether the light in each vehicle was on the dash, back seat, or where it was though.
I just figured it's possibly something people burn inside their vehicles when these peat fires occur that somehow dissipates any smoke entering the vehicle. Could that be it?
I would appreciate any answer as to what those lights in those vehicles might be
Curious,
Mike E.
Answer Mike,
I wish I could give you a really good answer, but I live further west in the state. Wildfires are not necessarily a common or regular event, but there's been a pretty good drought in the Carolinas in the past two years, so perhaps happening more than before. There certainly has been a large one in the Pocosin Lakes area in eastern N.C. recently, and late last week the wind was pushing smoke westward, even as far (fairly lightly) as our area around Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Your theory about the special lights could very well be true, but it would be something unique to the eastern third of the state. I've never seen anything like that in the western portion of the state, sorry to say.
