Re: Can Trees just burst into flames?

The snopes.com website has a discussion of spontaneous combustion of pine trees
(see references). Snope.com debunks urban legends. A letter from the Florida
Forestry Commission said there are no documented cases of spontaneous combustion
in trees, and the only natural (without human involvement) ways for a tree to
catch fire were lightning and lava.

Any reports of trees spontaneously bursting into flames without lightning or
lava probably had some help from a person providing a spark or a flame, heating
with a magnifying glass, careless disposal of lighted match or smoking
materials, careless handling of fireworks, careless handling of campfires, etc.

Reference


Spontaneous combustion of pine trees