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Antique_Work_3852 OP t1_jegz9c0 wrote

Thank you! Can you elaborate on how those leaves or grass piled at tree based might catch fire other than a lightning strike?

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Dazzling-Panda8082 t1_jeh46qg wrote

Campfires can blow embers into new areas that start a fire.

Or people who are burning rubbish on their property, etc

Discarded cigarettes butts

Sparks from machinery, trains breaking, etc

Electrical arcs (e.g. if a power line gets blown down or shorts out in strong winds)

Arson

If you have a bunch of flammable stuff in a pile and the ideal conditions for a fire to start and grow it doesn't take much

Edit to add: The lightening also doesn't need to be the typical lightening most people would associate with also having a thunderstorm attached to it. There's also "dry lightening" which doesn't need rain to happen. (I can't really ELI5 what causes dry lightening because I don't fully understand it myself)

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breckenridgeback t1_jeh1bte wrote

Many wildfires are caused by human actions (like an improperly-extinguished campfire, fireworks, or a cigarette).

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