Tree species and location can influence the fire safety of your home. Although all vegetation can burn, research has shown that some resist fire better than others. Care should be taken to lessen factors that contribute to their flammability and hazard.

Live in a fire risk area? Please check with your local Fire Council or Fire Department before planting trees!

SelecTree provides Fire Resistance information taken from The UC Forest Products Laboratory, Vegetation Guide for Landscaping in High Fire Risk Areas, 1997. Current information on this resource is available at UC Forest Products Laboratory - PreFire Engineering. Fire safety information within SelecTree is as follows for each associated listing*:

Favorable fire performance rating is based on the following characteristics:

• a low surface area to volume ratio, such as plants with thick, broad leaves as opposed to those with narrow, needle-like leaves.
• a high moisture content, as found in succulents and other plants with fleshy foliage.
• a low percentage of dead matter or debris.

Unfavorable fire performance rating is based on the following characteristics:

• a high surface area to volume ratio.
• a low moisture content.
• a high percentage of dead matter or debris.

Conflicting fire performance rating is based on being listed as fire resistant in some references and as fire prone in other references.

* (WARNING! Only 305 trees have this information in SelecTree. Using this category in an attribute search will limit matching trees considerably.) SelecTree Attribute Search - see "Fire Resistance"

Useful links:

The Fire Safe Council
ecoSmart - Living with Fire

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