What is Soil combustion?

Soil combustion is when the ground literally catches fire from below, like a hidden lava flow inside your sandbox.

Imagine you're playing with a sandbox on a sunny day. You dig deep down, and there’s a layer of dry leaves, twigs, or even old snacks buried in there. If it gets hot enough, maybe because the sun is super strong or someone dropped a burning match nearby, that hidden layer starts to smoke, then burn, like a secret fire party happening inside your sandbox.

• Dry stuff underground: Think of it like kindling under the ground. If it's dry and crumbly, it can easily start burning.
• Heat from above: The sun or a fire nearby warms up the ground, like a blanket getting hot in the oven.

Sometimes you can see smoke coming out of the ground, like steam from a hot lava lamp, but instead of glowing red, it’s sending up little wisps of smoke and maybe even tiny sparks!

Soil combustion is just a hidden fire party happening right under your feet.