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Orange County Health Care Agency / AP
This image provided by the Orange County Health Care Agency shows rocks picked up on a Southern California beach by a woman, which later ignited inside her shorts, leaving her with severe burns. Authorities say phosphorous may have coated these beach rocks.
Updated at 2:40 p.m. ET: SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. -- Rocks that a woman was carrying in her cargo shorts caught fire after a trip to a California beach, leaving her with severe burns, and authorities are investigating whether phosphorous on the stones is to blame.
Authorities say the woman was carrying stones that her children picked up during a family trip to Trestles Beach at San Onofre State Beach on Saturday.
As the 43-year-old woman stood in the kitchen about an hour after returning her San Clemente home, her shorts caught fire, the Orange County Register reported. Here's the Register's description of the panicked scene, citing Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone:
The woman tried to stop, drop and roll but was unsuccessful in getting the flames out, Stone said.
Her husband also tried to help and got second-degree burns when he tried to pull the shorts off, Stone said. The rocks, described as small, the size of a hamburger patty, smooth and orange and green in color, fell from the shorts onto the floor and continued to burn the wood floor and fill the house with smoke.
The man got the shorts off his wife and was hosing her down outside when firefighters arrived. The woman suffered second- and third-degree burns on her right leg from her thigh to her knee and on her right arm, the Register report said. The husband had second-degree burns on his arm.
"I talked to the paramedic who treated her, and in his 27 years in responding to calls near the beach, he's never seen this," Stone told the Register. "The rocks were still smoking when firefighters took them to the hospital."
The rocks were given to the Orange County Health Care Agency for testing, Stone told NBCLosAngeles.com.
Denise Fennessey, assistant director of environmental health at the agency, told the AP that initial tests indicated that two rocks had phosphorous on them but they'll be sent to a state lab for verification.
After some rocks spontaneously ignite in woman's pocket, burning her and damaging her home, the hunt is on to find the cause of this unusual incident. KNBC's Vikki Vargas reports.
Watch the most-viewed videos on msnbc.com
San Onofre State Beach is in San Diego County near Camp Pendleton, a Marine base. A military spokesman told the AP that the base is trying to determine whether military material might have contaminated the area.
"There is phosphorous that naturally occurs on the sand at the beach, but no one has ever heard of pants catching fire," Stone told the Register.
This article includes reporting by NBCLosAngeles.com and msnbc.com staff.
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Leave a Comment:
Sounds like she got her "Rocks" off. LOL
Humor aside, I hope she and her husband get better.
What a bizarre turn of events. Rocks catching fire? Not usually a combustible material... I've heard of people heating rocks and using them for cooking/warmth, but I've never heard of rocks actually igniting and burning. Is there any additional information about the type(s) of rock that these were?
Rock and roll.
This is such total BS! Who makes up this stuff and why do folks actually believe it?
Don't buy this BS from the Cali crowd. They were most likely Crack Rocks that were not put out correctly. Like MoonBeam that is totally uncool to smoke from you pants, Like OMG Knarly.........
My cousin used to collect rocks, and had a few pieces of brimstone that she would chip a piece off and light. It burned. Her rocks were orange - and not near other items. I'm guessing this gal just had the right combo in her pocket, and with walking, etc., they began to heat, and standing in the kitchen didn't contribute.
As the article says, there was probably some phosphorus in the rocks. The rocks hitting against each other in her pocket probably exposed some of the phosphorus and caused it to ignite. This is definitely a weird occurrence, but probably not due to anything other than a freaky set of coincidences. It is highly unlikely that this is due to any contamination from the military at Camp Pendleton, they are just investigating to be on the safe side. And before the nut cases start commenting, this did not have anything to do with the nuclear power plant.
Calling rocks the size of hamburger patties small seems odd. I guess everything is relative, but a rock the size of a hamburger patty is a pretty decent sized rock to me and not something I would want to walk around with two of in my pocket. This is going to make for one interesting claim on their homeowners insurance. I can see explaining to the insurance adjuster that some rocks in my pocket caught fire and ended up falling on the floor and burning the wood flooring. It is a probably good thing this is getting so much press or they might have a hard time getting the insurance adjuster to buy it.
Hopefully this woman and her husband will heal quickly and the scars from the burns will not be too bad.
Maybe they meant hamburger sliders.
I wonder if there were deposits of an alkali metal, like sodium or potassium in the rocks. That could easily ignite with moisture.
@JS in SD
I'll admit, my first thought was the power plant, but I can't see how that would be possible. Either way, it wont stop me from hitting Trestles next time I'm down that way.
If the rocks were WHITE PHOSPHORUS ????????
The only way to put them out is to SMOTHER THEM . That stuff burns as long as it has air . Water does no good at all. Wounder if that stuff was not a gift from WW11 ?????? There is a ton of stuff at the bottom of the ocean. As a result of sunken cargo ships .
Her pants....Her pants....Her pants are on fire...we don't need no water let the mother-f**ker burn...burn mother-f**ker...burn
liar, liar......
That's happened here in FL. (along with any number of weird things.) If it's orange it was probably phosphorous.
As long as it's wet it's fine, when it dries it bursts into flames. Lot's of left over military stuff washes up on shore down here.
I thought only money burnt a hole in your pocket
No need to be concerned even tho this is an unusual event it has nothing to do with corporations pumping phosphorous into our seas there is no connection what so ever to corporate farms and anyone that suggests it is a tree hugging liberal that is dain bramaged. Go about your lives normally we will outlaw rocks being carried in pockets to protect you and us.
Riiiiight, pure native phosphorus in a rock after all those millions of years of geological processes heating it at pressuring into rock, yup, convinced me :)
It's funny tho, one true believer sez it could not light while under water and another says it will light with moisture - you guys crack me up.
The big question here (this is california after all), is who can she sue???
I bet she was smokin' hot!
Hot Pockets. YUCK!
"As the 43-year-old woman stood in the kitchen about an hour after returning her San Clemente home her shorts caught fire,"
Um, standing does not cause friction... and there are obviosly other sources of ignition in a kitchen.
Maybe next time don't stand so close to the stove you left on.
Fortunatly her husband got her shorts off and was hosing her down. Thats to funny. Sorry I hope they both get through this ok.
Great balls of fire, at least she was in the kitchen where a woman should be.
Kidding aside, I hope there are no permanent scars for either of them.
Gives new meaning to hot pants.
@Panhead-3909678
Don't get any ideas next time you see a lady in hot pants.
People should not collect rocks such as ... uranium?
I dated this girl once whose pants were definitely on fire
I bet a part of you seemed to be on fire afterwards.
Those are called hoochies
Even though she's a liar, I hope she gets well. Hmmm, how close to the San Onofre nuke plant was this?
Ignorance rains supreme. Read the story, the stones conatain phosphorus, which is very flamable, and apparently common on the beach.
Never heard of phosphorous in the ocean, now phosphate is a nutrient and a different story. The only similarity is in the name.
Is this your way of saying "liar, liar, pants on fire?"
"Hey beach lire, you're pants are on fire
You grabbed some stones
put them in your pocket
Now you're aflame
like a human rocket."
Gives a whole new meaning to "pants-on-fire".... glad everyone is okay!
In a related story, BP executives were checking to make sure these rocks were from California and not related to the gulf coast disaster.
What the eff??
So....maybe her sex was on fire?
She got the fire down below?
new meaning to "getting your rocks off."
WTF rocks don't self ignite even phosphorus ones?
Technically speaking if the rocks contained the perfect amounts of certain chemicals it is possible. As the article said phosphorous being one of them.
You're right. Phosphorus will spontaneously ignite when in contact with oxygen. It would have to a fairly pure pocket of phosphorus but it isn't impossible. It's what makes military tracer ammo burn bright and is used in other weapon systems also.
A pocket of phosphorus could have been inside one of the rocks, if the rocks scraped together enough to open a crack it could ignite.
Chemistry is cool, more people should learn about it.
Perhaps the Israel Army should start importing those rocks to replace the white phosphous tey use now to incenerate Palestinians?
Phosphorus is exteremly flamable. Other include potasium and sodium, but they more litterly explode when in contact with water.
Wonder if it's possible one of these "rocks" was a smashed large caliber tracer round. They contain phosporous or magnesium.
Magnesium is highly flamable when it comes in contact with water. Maybe she got it wet somehow and KABLUEI!!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrjYb1Oy-Pc
Magnesium doesn't ignite when it comes in contact with water, JM, though it will continue to burn under water if already lit. Sodium and Potassium will ignite when put in water, but not magnesium.
Take a rock and toss it into a fire. Let us know how much of it burns.
What if the "rock" was coal?
Coal isn't a rock.
Wow, I never in a million years would have thought of that one; excellent!
Can I have permission to use it to open my comedy routine? I have been looking for a comment to open up with that would set the stage for "this comic is a frickin idiot!" and then clobber them with follow up material that shows that I actually have an IQ, which is miles above that of the Mariana Trench!
Coal; what a great one!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@rajun.... Ron didn't say that coal was a rock... he's saying that someone could have mistaken the "rock" for a lump of coal... you should be ticketed for displaying stupidity in public without a license.
Coal is a rock.
Man, I just quit smoking and now I have give up rubbing rocks together! When will this madness end!
Hope thay get well soon, however, when fireman Stone, reports on rocks setting pants on fire, that is so funny :)
Well maybe if she wasn't such a liar things like this wouldn't happen. She should also probably stay away from cracks if she cares at all for her mothers back.
The fact that they were still burning when the fire fighters arived should lead one to assume that she is not, in fact, lying.
Hey, Fed, I think Alex was making a joke.
That's what happens when you have a big pair of rocks in your pants.
So if this story turns out to be bogus; do we get to say liar, liar pants on fire!
Husband - Hey Honey how about some sex?
Wife - The only way you are ever going to get into my pants is that they were on fire!
Husband - Whoa, check this out! It's my lucky day!
This story is definitely one for the books. Hope everyone recovers without any scars or operations.
You people amaze me. Someone picks up an unidentified something (they're not likely just "rocks"...) that has the ability to spontaneously ignite, and you make jokes. She's injured and you make jokes. If this was truly a nuclear contaminant in your area wouldn't you be curious how it got there...? Or have IQ's just dropped off the chart where you live?
"ScientistGuy" (my as%!), You are amazing. Your screen name reflects knowledge, which, were you to possess in this arena, would have prevented you from saying ignorant things. The most highly radioactive materials do not cause fire or immediate burns. These so-called rocks obviously contained something likely as white phosphorus, among other things, but that is it, a chemical, NOT nuclear reaction of any kind.
ScientistGuy -
Lighten up! HS! It's called dark humor, been around for ages! We all feel bad for her and her husband but come on - self igniting rocks! Check Leno and Letterman either tonight or the next couple of days, bet you the jokes will be flying. Are you going to rail against them also?
I've asked this before in later posts, but: What does the fact that there is a Nuclear Power Plant have anything to do with this? The rods that are used to create the nuclear reaction that creates the steam that turns the turbines that generates the power are ususally Uranium, which is a metallic silver color and, after checking several different sites, is flamable only in a finely ground powder.
ScientistGuy: Find a freind, make a joke and learn to smile. Where I live, I punch people in the face for making comments about my IQ and I'm very sure that mine is higher than yours.
Somebody went through a lot of trouble to get her shorts off... I do not buy the rocks starting fire theory.
The area that the rocks came from is next to a nuclear power plant. This is a scary story as far as I am concerned since I live near the area.
NOT
First...................no.........never mind...........people who buy into the 'Nuclear is the all encompassing evil' duatribe promulgated by the eco-nutcases and slavering media are beyond help.
Ever fly in an airplane? Know how much radiation you are exposed to at 37,000 feet?
READ A BOOK.
What difference does it make that they came from an area by a Nuclear Power Plant?? The material that they use to power the nuclear reaction that produces the steam that turns the turbine to create the power Is Not Flamable!
We probably won't know what the substance that burned in the rocks is until they do chemical tests on it, but in all likely-hood, it is not remotely related to the nuclear plant that is there.
Maybe she shouldn't be collecting rocks from inside the containment vessel.
Seriously, I think this is a prank story or urban legend.
Could these be the new "pet" rocks?
Girls, do not accept any rocks from guys! Do not put those pebbles in your pockets.
Sing it with me, now ... "HOT PANTS!!"
If the rocks were high grade phosphorus, they could catch fire (keeping them wet, as on a beach, would prevent the fire). But in nature, the odds are that they would have reacted long(eons) ago. This one just doesn't sound right!
Perhaps small pockets with remaining elemental fragments of white phosphorus. In the pocket they tumbled and even a .1um crack would have been more than sufficient for the influx of O2 molecules.
She wins the title of being
One Hot chick.
I heard the marriage was on the rocks anyway.
It is amazing that even now, when virtually everything you want or need to fully understand is available free, on the Internet, there are so many ignorant fools!
Your comments and questions unveil the incredible, continuing lack of motivation on the part of 99% of you.
That's impossible, Rocks cannot catch fire.
They can if they look like rocks and then catch fire. Obviously they were not actual rocks, but certainly appeared to be and what they appeared to be, does spontaneously combust.
I figured it out, I figured out!
The rocks were large chunks of pure Potassium Permanganate and when she put them into her pockets, she forgot about the plastic bags in her pockets filled with glycerin. Probably she sat down, the bags ruptured and within about 20-30 seconds, her 'pants' spontaneously ignited. Yeah, right!
I think all rocks should be banned now! Who knows you may be next. Somebody could slip a couple of rocks in your pocket and follow you till you ignite. Let us band together to stop this dangerous item. I know the NRA (National Rock Association) is going to complain, but we must protect the public from this dangerous menace.
I'm just wondering why it took so long for the husband to get her pants off.
First he had to get his, I mean her, rocks off!
It took him so long to get her shorts off because... (they forgot to mention) she weighs 300 pounds!
Rocks in Head or Military Ordinance? First guess wrong but then.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/range-297333-marines-base.html
Marines silence San Clemente's shooting range
Range has been shut down since September. Talks about cleanup and finding a way for the range to resume have yielded no solutions.
FRED SWEGLES / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Oldtimers say that back around 1941 – before the government set up Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base next to San Clemente – the seaside town set up a firing range in a remote area.
The site straddles the border of San Clemente and Camp Pendleton, with the shot landing on base property. Oldtimers say it started out as a police range but has operated for many decades as the San Clemente Municipal Trap & Skeet Range, most recently under terms of a 1980 letter from the base giving conditional approval.
Eric Johnson, President of the San Clemente Trap and Skeet Range. Members at the range have been unable to shoot at the range because of a dispute with Camp Pendleton which sits in the background.
Since September, the range has been silent. The Marine Corps has ordered the gun club's marksmen to stand down, to no longer shoot at flying targets, the debris falling into a hillside. The Marines say they need to comply with federal environmental laws, so they want their hill cleaned up and no longer want shot or targets to fall there.
"The base is not attempting to shut the range down," said Larry Rannals, Camp Pendleton's community plans and liaison officer. "We're open to continuing operation of the range. We just need to ... figure out a way to do it."
//Eric Johnson, president of the trap & skeet range's gun club, said the club and the San Clemente Elks Lodge that oversees it are willing to perform cleanup and keep the hillside cleaned, but proposals to the Marines have not been accepted, and the base has requested an environmental study that could take six months to a year.//
"I am 100-percent supportive of the Marines, like everybody else in San Clemente is," Johnson said. "I'm just a little, I guess, miffed of the actions they've taken and not really given us an opportunity to fix it or ask us to fix it."
Johnson said it's the last shotgun range in Orange County, used by about 100 members and another 300 or so marksmen from outlying areas. The nearest similar ranges are Camp Pendleton's own trap & skeet range and at Prado Olympic Shooting Park in Chino.
The San Clemente range is still a relatively remote area, but only if the shot is aimed toward the Camp Pendleton hillside. The deposit zone overlooks San Mateo Campground, a state-parks facility on land that the state leases from Camp Pendleton. It's well beyond the range of the shot, Johnson said. "There's absolutely no way the shot could ever get that far," he said.
The current situation began in 2009, he said, when some kids near the campground evidently were shooting near San Mateo Creek and someone complained to the Marines.
"They came down," Johnson said. "It was on a Sunday. About 10 Marines in full camo, bulletproof, helmets, the whole thing, machine guns, came up this hill and 'cease fire!' with their weapons. 'What are you doing, your shot is landing down in this park.' 'That's impossible,' (we said)."
The Marines' officer contacted the gun club, and Marines walked the property, Johnson said. The base sent the city a cleanup letter, expressing concern about lead shot or other contaminants and about safety. The letter called for cleanup and prevention of further accumulation of lead shot and target debris in a watershed.
Johnson said the shooters use non-toxic shot and biodegradable targets, while recreational shooters at the Marines' own range use lead shot in a watershed. A base spokesman at Camp Pendleton, asked to check, confirmed it, stating that the base would look into it "to determine if any action is necessary to safeguard the environment."
Johnson said the base's 2009 letter superseded the 1980 letter, which had said the range could operate if there were quarterly cleanups, signs posted, a safety specialist present during firing and a hold-harmless agreement.
Chuck Nauman, Jr., a past exalted ruler of the Elks Lodge, said he doesn't know what the Elks can do to meet the Marines' requirements. A net or other barrier may not be practical. He said the Elks have counted on revenue from the range to help maintain their lodge building.
"We're struggling on our lodge," he said. "That cut a bite out of our income that was able to sustain our building. We've been without this for almost a year now. We know we lost about $2,000 a month."
He said he asked if the Elks could go onto the hillside and clean up debris and was told no, it would be trespassing. Oldtimers say there is other debris buried in the hillside, because the city used it, many decades ago, as a dump.
Nauman, Johnson and San Clemente's city manager, George Scarborough, have participated in meetings at Camp Pendleton that have thus far not produced a solution. Rannals said a study is needed to determine the level of contamination, and care must be taken to not disturb habitats. There is no money in the base's budget for this, and Rannals said he doesn't know if either the city or the base could come up with the money to pursue a solution.
"For the last 10 years, we've been focused on combat priorities," Rannals said.
Scarborough said the city needs to know if the trap and skeet range can address the Marines' concerns and receive Marine approval. "The city would consider the continued operation of the trap & skeet if the Marines approve of the continuance," the city manager said.
RichMJones -
Are we to take your post as a possible cause of this incident? Are you saying she picked up pieces of military ordance from long ago? Or are you just slamming the military? Everyone in the report says they were rocks. Nothing in the report says otherwise. Are you insinuating that this woman and her husband don't know the difference between rocks and pieces of military ordinance? Or are you an Elk member who is pissed about losing $2K/month?
It's not entirely impossible that she picked up a smashed, unburnt tracer round that looked like a rock which was then ignited by exposure to oxygen or heat from friction.
Was she lying and or hanging from a telephone wire?