Eucalyptus to Blame for California Wildfires?

It’s been implied that the introduction of Australian eucalyptus trees could be to blame for the rapid spread of the Southern California wildfires.

So, what do the experts have to say about these claims? Eucalyptus trees came to California in the early 1850s as tiny seeds packaged in envelopes during the Gold Rush. These trees, which are native to Australia, were seen as a simple solution to a pressing shortage of wood brought on by the economic boom.

The Tasmanian blue gum has become so synonymous with the streets of LA and San Francisco that many Californians think it’s native.

The issue is that now, the iconic Aussie tree is at the center of a debate about whether it’s somewhat to blame for the devastating bushfires that ravaged LA. Let’s go to the experts and see what they have to say:

The oils eucalyptus trees secrete are highly flammable.

Approximately 6,700 homes and businesses have gone up in flames. Further damage is expected as winds continue rolling in. Causes for the wildfires vary, but one myth has endured regarding a specific tree known to have healing properties.

The conspiracy reached a crescendo last year when a post was published on the social media platform Reddit, prompting a comprehensive debunking of the accusation by an article in Techly, a lifestyle and tech publication.

In the article, the author of the post suggests that Australian eucalypts, which were introduced to the area, and aren’t native, are to blame for the wildfires since the oils they secrete are highly flammable. But it was ultimately concluded that the allegations were unanimously false.

Eucalyptus in Southern California

The author of the Reddit post we mentioned argued that Australians tricked Californians into repurchasing Eucalypt seeds in 1920, which they then planted across thousands of acres.

Instead, a thoroughly researched and detailed paper by Nathan Masters argues that eucalyptus trees were first introduced by a single farmer, William Wolfskill, in 1865, who planted five specimens of this tree outside his house.

An agricultural examiner who made his wealth growing walnuts, oranges, and wine grapes, Wolfskill likely recognized the eucalyptus’ potential to wreak havoc on the commercial timber market.

After selling off his land, another farmer, Ellwood Cooper, well-known for his guidebook Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees, planted a 200-acre eucalyptus grove somewhere near Santa Barbara in 1872, and more cultivation of the tree began across southern California.

Eucalyptus trees take “100 years” to mature

Another claim the author of the Reddit post made is that, after allegedly misleading Southern Californian farmers into purchasing eucalyptus seeds, Australians conveniently forgot to mention that it would take more than 100 years for a tree to mature fully.

A paleoclimatologist from Melbourne says that this isn’t true. He argues that one of the main reasons why Eucalyptus plantations are so profitable is because they grow so fast. But unfortunately, fast growth is also adaptive in the case of fire.

And when a blaze scorches an area, the trees that can re-grow quickly in the disturbed environment will be the ones that prevail and flourish.

Highly flammable eucalypt oils

Even though the oils secreted by eucalyptus trees are highly flammable, one 2012 study published in the International Journal of Forestry Research showed that there wasn’t much of a difference in fire risk between Eucalyptus and pines in the southern United States.

Introducing certain Eucalyptus species into the fire-prone landscape of the southern Coastal Plain increased the specter of altered fire behavior and a more significant risk of destructive wildfire, if we were to look at the nature of wildfires in Australia, where Eucalyptus is native.

And while there’s little practical information on fire behaviors in Eucalyptus plantations under the weather conditions seen in the southern Coastal Plain, modeling efforts focusing on fire behavior at the stand level indicates that not much may differ from current conditions if we were to compare the flammable nature of the native pine species, the experts concluded.

But what about the weather?

Another paleoclimatologist from Melbourne University says that flammable vegetation and the weather combined are most likely the culprits. He says that the issue here is that the weather has been astonishing.

95 degrees in November, mixed with the Santa Ana winds that have kicked it up a notch, have created a perfect storm of flammable vegetation.

Similarly, another paleoclimatologist pointed out that Southern California’s native vegetation on it’s own is also flammable, especially on the hills.

Experts say that brutal winds, intense heat, and a spark are all it takes to start a fire, and the whole place will go up in flames.

What do you think? should we be blaming eucalyptus trees for the latest wildfire? Please feel free to share your thoughts with Devastating Disasters in the comments section below.

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