If I’m not mistaken, there was a relatively long period of time where trees had evolved but the cells that enabled trees to form rigid structures could not be broken down through biological processes (it took a long time for bacteria, algae, fungi to evolve the ability to digest). During this period, trees would die but not decompose. Forests would become massive areas of dead wood. These would catch fire and created staggeringly large fires. Much of the coal we consume today formed as a result of this period.
It’s known as the Carboniferous Period. With the entire planet covered in wood and microbes, it still took 60 million years before a microbe evolved an enzyme capable of breaking down lignin.
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