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Earth’s oldest known wildfires raged 430 million years ago

Fossilized charcoal points to atmospheric oxygen levels of at least 16 percent

image of 430-million-year-old fossil of the fungus Prototaxites

The gray veneers of charcoal surrounding bright white pyrite minerals in this 430-million-year-old fossil of the fungus Prototaxites are the oldest known evidence of wildfires, a new study suggests.

Ian Glasspool/Colby College

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

Bits of charcoal entombed in ancient rocks unearthed in Wales and Poland push back the earliest evidence for wildfires to around 430 million years ago.