The initial destruction comes from the water in the plant turning to steam generated by the heat from the lightning. The steam expands so quickly that it actually explodes the structure.
Great photo, hate to see a saguaro go down! As a property claims adjuster (now retired) I saw the results of lightning striking a fir tree, travel in a spiral down the trunk and followed the root that had grown against the concrete walls of a home. It blew out the wall and every circuit inside the home. As I recall, the damage was in the vicinity of $16,000, in the 1970's. I have a lot of respect for lightening.
I don't know much about them. Are those it's limbs on the ground in the radial pattern or is that a root system that got pushed up and exposed due to the strike? I don't see indications of a root structure like that in the ones nearby so I'm guessing it's just the above ground parts now lying on the ground.
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