Wood ignites at temperatures in the hundreds of degrees. How are some wildfires supposedly started by sunlight without human action or lightning?

Question

Wood ignites at temperatures in the hundreds of degrees. How are some wildfires supposedly started by sunlight without human action or lightning?

In: 1508

Answer 1

The leaves, branches, small plant matter ignite easier than the wood. That stuff then ignites the trees.

Then you have decomposition that produces heat. This is a big problem for farmers with hay bales as well.

And there’s coal seam, garbage dump, root systems, etc that are smoldering sometimes for over a hundred years, and when it get to the trees, they ignite.