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From the grid side, we clear a fault like that in less than a quarter of a second. It can wreak havok when a fault lingers. But sometimes they do! There's video of a fault that lasted long enough for someone to wake up at the sound of an explosion, look out the window, grab their phone and start videoing.

My experience, which mostly comes from training on "this is why we always clear faults quickly," is a fault that remains for a few seconds eventually becomes more severe. I think it's that turbulent air you mentioned. One of the three phases will have sustained plasma, and that plasma moves around and eventually the second and third phases get involved. If the first phase wasn't enough to clear the fault, the second and third ones are.

Plasma is really interesting!