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](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/062122_sp_old-fires_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
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