I have been wanting to write something all week but can only think of Los Angeles burning. The City is many miles south from where I live but forest fires are an all too familiar event in Canada these days. While at one time, forest fires were considered natural events, they rarely if ever entered populated areas, never posed the threat to humans and their habitat as they do now.

British Columbia and Alberta have had their share – most of Jasper was lost in the summer of 2024, Fort McMurray in 2016, West Kelowna in 2023. The warming planet has brought us to terrifying times. We dread drought but long periods without precipitation are becoming more and more common, as are the sudden torrential atmospheric rivers that bring us floods and destabilize mountain sides.

Anyone who has an intimate relationship with the land as farmers and gardeners do, are very cognizant of these changes and constantly ask ourselves how we can adapt to protect our land and homes. While forests and homes were burning in British Columbia these last few summers I have tried to evaluate my garden and what is growing. I need to know whether my plants pose a threat to my property.   It is not unusual to see in the aftermath of fires, beautiful green trees still standing. How these trees resist the flames? I live in area surrounded by conifers and when you witness a whole Pine or Fir tree candle hundreds of feet into the air in seconds, it makes you question what is growing close to your house. What is remarkable is that many conifers withstand the flames and will regenerate. Many don’t however and if the tree is particularly dry, even the roots burn out or continue to burn underground for long periods of time. What conifers cannot withstand are exceptionally long periods of drought. The picture below shows where a tree root once stood. This tree must have been exceptionally dry and the fire completely excavated the root ball.

A whole new industry is now growing around fireproofing your home and what can we do in terms of the flora we love to grow? Some plant production companies are labelling their more fire resistant plants as ‘Fire Smart.’ A person can look for that label when purchasing new plants for their garden. It is at least a good idea to check flammability if there is no label. I quickly learned one year, how flammable lavender is. I own a weed torch. Knowing how to deal with weeds is an annual dilemma but I rationalized that a weed torch would be a less strenuous way to deal with unwanted weeds in a brick path. Unfortunately lavender overhung the path and relaxing my attention for two seconds one day enabled the plant to suddenly explode into flame. Luckily I had the hose nearby which I always do if using the torch. No permanent damage was done but the speed with which that plant burst into flame was enough to scare me into being more careful. Lavender is a plant that produces volatile oils which evaporate into warm air and are an accelerant to fire. Many herbs and scented plants produce these volatile oils which also help the plant as a barrier to water loss. Nearly all conifers for example produce such aromatic oils which makes them exceedingly flammable.  So while plants that grow in dry climates have evolved a strategy to protect themselves from water loss, this strategy does not protect humans from fire.

Generally speaking plants with high water content and little scent are more resistant to fire. They will not stop fire but are less likely to accelerate it as volatile oils do. Deciduous trees for example are better choice for landscaping especially when looking for plants to use closer to structures. While Lavender may be lovely to smell outside a patio door, it is not a good choice to have close to a building. Succulents with high water content such as Sedums, Saxifrages and Campanulas make a better choice. Plants with higher water content generally will have softer leaves and easily wilt without water. This of course gives rise to the dilemma of high water content plants requiring water versus drought resistant plants that are flammable but require less water.  With careful planning it is possible to plant less drought tolerant and more fire resistant plants close to the house and any water source, while keeping more drought tolerant and therefore flammable plants away from structures.  Vegetables nearly all have a high water content so the tradition of planting the vegetable garden away from the house should maybe reversed and vegetables should be planted close to the house. Many fruits and vegetables have very high water content such as cucumbers for example, which are 96% water.

In B.C. we are fortunate to have this resource to refer to for plant lists and landscaping recommendations.

My heart goes out to all those in the fire zones of California. I hope we, still buried under snow will give serious consideration to how we mange our gardens and what changes we might make this year to further fire smart our homes.