• fearout@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    1 year ago

    While these are more prevalent, they’re not the only causes. For example, sparks from rock falls also cause natural wildfires, as well as spontaneous combustion. That’s caused by oxidation, bacterial fermentation and other natural processes.

    Manure piles can spontaneously combust during conditions of extreme heat. Cotton and linen can ignite when they come into contact with polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Hay is quite prone to spontaneous combustion when specific moisture/heat levels are reached.

    So while near densely populated areas idiots are way more likely causes, forests do self-ignite. And the rate of those events increases during heatwaves.

    • shapesandstuff@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Spontaneous combustion like in moist haybales or as described in the article you linked, via fermentation sure does exist, not really in the wild. Like in a forest. The entire wikipedia page is about specific circumstances, none of which happen naturally.

      Eg there shouldn’t be any manure piles out causing wild fires. If there are, its again caused by idiots.

      I dont have numbers on rock sparks causing fires but it kinda sounds exceedingly rare?

      Like all of these points seem like they would be a fraction of a fraction of the causes for forest fires.

      By and large, firest will not self ignite. If you see a raging fire on the news, its overwhelmingly unlikely to be anything but an idiot to blame.