VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: Trees Can Spontaneously Combust in Strip Heat

More than 119K people watched this video of a smoking palm at the Encore Beach Club, which was posted to X/Twitter at 5:30 p.m. July 7 by the account @KMart.

“It’s so hot in Vegas,” the post claimed, “the Wynn pineapple lit on fire.” The video received 700K additional views when it was shared by the X/Twitter news feed, Las Vegas Locally.

To be clear, palm trees can’t spontaneously combust from exposure to 115-120°F air. (Nor can actual pineapples.) But facts aren’t known for their virality on X/Twitter.

“I guess if the tree was dry enough the sun’s just going to do its job and cook it to death,” commented @DioDiablo702.

@MrVasireddi knew better, theorizing it was “caused by a nearby building window reflecting sunlight onto it.”

There was also @nogeese’s extremely alternative explanation: “That was the burning bush telling them they are all sinning in modern day Sodom and Gomorra!” (sic)

Liar Liar Palms on Fire!

Palm trees are highly flammable. Called “nature’s tiki torches,” they’re loaded with combustible oil and shaped like giant candlesticks.

While heat from the sun can cause their fronds to dry out, making them more likely to burn, an external ignition source — a spark, flame, or lightning strike — is still required for that to happen.

In July 2017, several social media users shared videos and images of a palm tree burning in Kuwait, claiming that it also spontaneously combusted.

Those posts claimed the temperature there reached 143.6°F, though temperatures actually hovered around 122°F in Kuwait that month and the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134°F, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

It turns out, the tree shown burning in those photos and videos was struck by lightning, according to Snopes.com, and it didn’t even happen in Kuwait.

Burning Question

Casino.org contacted the Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) where a spokesperson confirmed that an engine did respond to “a small fire at that date” at the Encore Beach Club.

The cause of the fire, however, was “a small firework” in the tree — probably installed and set off by a DJ as part of their set.

“Crews put water on the tree and it was promptly extinguished,” CCFD said in an email.

Nevertheless, news teams from both KTLA in Los Angeles and WSVN-TV in Miami left comments on Twitter/X, asking @KMart for permission to show the video on their newscasts.

By the way, traffic lights don’t melt in Las Vegas heat, either.

Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. To read previously busted Vegas myths, visit VegasMythsBusted.com. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org.