Birds killed by electrocution catch fire and cause forest fires

Electrocuted, burning bird carcasses are falling from power lines and causing wildfires across the U.S. This surprisingly common phenomenon has already been responsible for at least three wildfires in Colorado this summer.

These incidents are not isolated cases. A 2022 study found that electrocuted birds caused 44 wildfires in the United States between 2014 and 2018. The study was led by Taylor Barnes, a biologist who now works for the power company EDM International. In the study, Barnes wrote that “bird-caused fires” occur when a bird perches on an overhead power line. For reasons that vary from case to case, the bird sometimes receives a powerful electric shock that sets its feathers on fire. The dead or dying bird then falls, occasionally landing in brush or other flammable material.

“Sometimes they burst into flames,” Barnes told 9News, an NBC affiliate in Colorado. “Sometimes they just drop dead. Not every bird that gets electrocuted falls to the ground and starts a fire.”

You’ve probably seen birds perched on power lines countless times without witnessing sparrows spontaneously combusting. Barnes said birds simply perching pose no danger. Because the birds don’t touch the ground, the electricity in the power line can’t get into the ground and is safe for them. It’s only when the birds get into a part of the power infrastructure where a circuit can be completed that they get crispy.

On July 13, a fire in Arapahoe County, Colorado, destroyed a home and a dozen outbuildings. It appears that one such burning bird was the cause of one fire. The Denver Post reported that more than 450 acres of land were burned in the fire. Barnes said one possible reason for the fire was that the bird was looking for a snack in a fire extinguisher cap.

“Sometimes insects can get into the cap,” he told 9News. “That attracts birds. Birds like to eat insects, especially woodpeckers and crows. So something like that could have been sitting on the jumper cable and pecking into the arrester cap to get to the insects and come into contact with the live components, which then causes them to catch fire.”

It is unclear what happened to the birds in the other two fires in Colorado on July 31 and August 27. No people were injured or killed in those incidents.

According to Barnes’ 2022 study, the area of ​​coastal California known as the state’s Mediterranean ecoregion has the highest density of wildfires sparked by avian influenza. In the article, he advised authorities in the area and other fire-prone regions to consider modifying power poles to prevent these electrocutions. Given the devastating impact of fires and their frequency, keeping our feathered friends in the air and not on fire is certainly worth the investment.