I don't understand . . .

[Bain]

. . . how a bonding cable can get so hot that the insulation melts. I realize that to Jim or one of the other Illuminati this may be a dopey question, but why would this happen? I realize that wires typically overheat due to loose connections, but that can't be the case here, can it? If so, I don't get it.

There are all kinds of problems in the panel, but the bonding cable is entering the lower/right corner in the first photo.

The last photo is of the cable in the crawlspace, just past the clamp.

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[Bill Kibbel]

Maybe the bonding conductor did it's job and grounded out a lightening strike to the piping system.

[Jim Katen]

Maybe the bonding conductor did it's job and grounded out a lightening strike to the piping system.

That'd be my guess. Some big nasty surge hit the thing that's being bonded (the water pipes?) and the cable "took one for the team."

- Jim in Oregon

[Bain]

Makes sense. But the pipes were all in the crawlspace, which is why I was flummoxed.

[Stephen D. Gazo]

My house got hit by lightning a bunch of times. Blew everything electrical. It started at the water main shut off in the front lawn, then found the Bell and Cable wires and from there into the house. Sorry no pics, this was back in the day when a computer was for geeks. 1996

Thankfully the insurance company was down the street when it hit. The insurance adjuster left work to follow the fire trucks (only out of curiosity). I was on tour in Yugoslavia so I got some strange phone calls coming from the other side of the pond. I think it was just under 25k to replace everything and a bit more for paint and dry wall.