Jacope is right, but Lightning can only be redirected, not wavered off. Of course it can be avoided too but so can anything else.
and i do have to say that, even though Fire is sooo aggressive, its also very uncontrolled. say your in a wooden barn fighting. you use your shit, and the barn burns down along with hundreds of pounds of burnt and still burning wood upon you.
air, can simply move the wood so it doesnt....
Yeah, the fire hits the wall..... and burns right through it. Even so, why would you be fighting in a barn? Inside of a barn? Why not just stand outside the barn and burn it down on top of your target? A barn is a terrible example and fire is more controllable than you think. It doesn't go on forever and typical fire benders can make it go only to the point they want it to.
big difference there buddy.
Air can push the beams/walls/etc out from the barn and bring it down on top of you.
Water can do the same with enough force.
Earth can break through the wall and send the barn crashing down.