Portugal, Greece, Spain, Chile, California and now Hawaii have all battled wildfires this year as high temperatures and strong winds have whipped small sparks into violent infernos. But fire needs fuel, and what these places also have in common is an invasive species — Australia’s eucalyptus tree.
Exotic souvenir from the south In the early 1800s, the eucalyptus tree was an exotic specimen from the new southern land, and aristocrats, collectors and botanists alike were eager to plant them in gardens around London and Paris.
“All of these things combine to make eucalypt forests particularly flammable parts of the landscape in those environments they’ve been introduced to,” Dr Curran said.
Environmental groups in Portugal have long campaigned against the use of eucalyptus trees in plantations, fearing poor management could increase the fire risk.
“For many Californians, eucalypts are a valued part of the natural landscape, while for others they are a nightmare that fuelled the disastrous 1991 Oakland Hills fire,” a study into their impacts on the state read.
Perhaps exporting koalas to anywhere with eucalypts could be a solution
What’s interesting is that earlier in my posting session, there was an article about humidity levels changing fire behaviour.
It’s nice to blame Eucalyptus but there are other issues afoot as well. Conservative media has a long history of blaming arsonists or the Greens for not backburning rather than the one thing mostly responsible.
Not only super flammable, but will also just fuckin drop a 200kg branch on your head without warning. For fun.
They should just be grateful we sprayed them for dropbears before exporting the eucalyptus.
