High Desert Approved and Prohibited Plant List

Revised November 15, 2022

Fire Intensity & Propagation:

Fire intensity and propagation may depend on specific shrub selection. Deciduous shrubs tend to be more fire resistant than evergreen shrubs due to lower content of flammable chemicals and their leaves have a higher moisture content. Well-watered plants may burn with reduced intensity. Ladder fuels are the biggest risk for shrubs igniting the shrub’s dead leaves and branches. The height and width of the plants are the plant’s fire load and its potential fire propagation size. Small shrub transport fire horizontally. Larger shrubs transport fire both vertically and horizontally because they have larger flame lengths increasing radiant heat output that can dry out and ignite neighboring plants.

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