Lightning strikes sear clothing, scar skin, and deafen ears. A lot can happen in the three-thousandths of a second it takes for a lightning bolt to course through your body.

Firefighters in California are gaining more ground against relentless wildfires that were sparked by lightning, but the extensive scars on the land left behind can be seen from space.

These scars tighten the skin, which might make it harder to move the affected part of your body. If the scar is deep, it may also affect the muscles and nerves underneath. Hypertrophic scars.