Like they say, if you are outside in an thunderstorm don't stand under a tree because the electricity from the lightening can travel down the tree and across the soil for a few feet because the water (from the rain) that runs down the tree and out into the soil around it will carry it.
I had to work on some wiring on a house where lightning had hit a tree in the woods next to the house. It jumped from 1 tree to another then traveled through the roots towards the house. The ground looked like it had been plowed up with a blade. It hit an ungrounded cable line next to the house and did all kinds of damage. The part that amazed me was it was not a direct hit to the tree that had the roots "plowing". After seeing that I don't want to be anywhere close to a tree during a thunderstorm. Like 60 feet close !