WWhen forest fires erupted in Los Angeles on January 7, some of the most dramatic pictures of palm trees were burning Along the sunset street. In the days after that, the burning palm became a symbol to clarify what might be The most expensive forest fires in historyThat left at least 25 dead and destroyed thousands of structures.
Trees are city icons. They also played a role in spreading fire, as researchers and firefighters say.
While a dead mix of Factors Fires, many types of palm trees Fire exhibition It is difficult to extinguish it as soon as it ignites. The palm trees are poorly maintained, which have dry and dry materials under the curtains, are famous for accepting EmbersThe main cause of the structure loss of forest fires. In the strong winds, small pieces of burned fibers or large fiery fronds can travel to long distances.
“The Mexican Mexican palm trees are equivalent to a full branch that is arrested in the wind and moves, and when this is arrested on the roof, he said.” Esther MargolisHe is an architect of landscapes and professor of South California University (USC) specializing in flexibility planning in climate and omission. Unfortunately, the logical logical “they helped spread fires.
research It has shown that southern California palm trees-which are not all original, with the exception of the California fan palm that grows in the desert-“rises like Roman candles” when Embers hit the dead frond. Palm trees were also ignited due to lightning strikes, power lines and fireworks Burn. The fire extinguishing department in Los Angeles says Palm It should not be used in the areas of the well -known fire risk.
But not all palms are created equally. One that is intense and healthy may not be satisfied with the fire like the palm of the hand in its natural conditions, as it contains a large skirt of the spoonful of the frond.
That nurtured the theories of land conspiracy. Although thousands of palm trees have caught fire this month, some of the sample palm images that are located next to the destroyed houses have led to false demands about the fires that the government laid down intentionally to start “seizing lands” or to stop the development of China China, high -speed railways.
The real causes of not burning some palm trees vary. The way they were trimmed, the amount of moisture that the tree was internal, all of which do not affect the inability to predict wind patterns. If the tree is emphasized, or resins leaks from a previous wound, this may also play a role. In general, healthy trees are unlikely.
The future of the Los Angeles palm
At the same time, the fires shine light on the problem of other palm tree.
It is difficult to imagine Los Angeles without the famous palm trees, but it may become a reality because it is threatened by fires and disease, PestsAging and the fact that it is not very practical in a sprawling city strongly needs the benefits of more cooling than the palm can provide. It is also dangerous even when the city is free of fire. The population reported a heavy frond with a decrease in thorny thorns from more than 80 feet, broke the roof tiles, the hole car windows and the loss of people narrowly in this process.
Several palm trees were first planted in Los Angeles The region in the eighteenth century by Spanish missionaries who used fronds in religious services. By the beginning of the twentieth century, it was used as decorative plants by wealthy developers and real estate, who marketed the city as a tropical paradise.
The 25,000 Los Angeles Olympics that was planted before the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932 and an additional 40,000 was added as part of the progress management in the new deal works, “Senior Citizens”. Trends say it is never good to grow a lot of the same species at the same time due to pests and disease and the fact that they will advance at the same time. The city of 1990 was estimated in the city that there 75000 Palm trees in the city’s streets, but exactly it is not known the number of remaining, especially after the latest forest fires. Margolis said that the USC study of an urban area near the center of Los Angeles found that 12 % of the street tree canopy consisted of very flammable palm trees.
Palm Herbs from treesThey have been called by environmental protection advocates for high water, and the inability to store large amounts of carbon dioxide and shade deficiency. The comfort of the history of the Canary Island, which appears throughout the Bifrly Hills and Hankook Park neighborhoods, is the palm that can create a valuable shades, but due to the potential risks of trees and high cost – mature can cost up to $ 20,000, which is more than 20,000 A dollar, which costs 20 thousand dollars, which is why some were Stole In the past – it is not sustainable.
No one knows exactly when the palm will die, but when they do it, some streets will get a zero shadow. The Los Angeles city or province, which already has limited resources to maintain its urban forests, will need to remove a large volume of 100 -foot palm trees to receive or dispose of them.
“I am sympathetic to the aesthetic history of Los Angeles, and I am not from the mind, we must eliminate the coach of the community forests in Treepeple, and it is an environmental non -profit.” They should not be used in the streets where we need to reduce some Heat island Archeology.
People have strong opinions about urban forest books, where some Los Angeles believe only the original trees. Others say to plant trees only from the hottest places in the world. Vejar believes that we can do the two commands and preachers to replace the majority of palm trees in the city with original oak, desert row and Toyion, as well as non -citizens who bear very drought like Chinese Pistashe. Of course, this would change the appearance of the city and its icons, but perhaps this is the point: Labs, defenders argue, they must look more normal in an umbrella that provides more benefits For all Angelinus.
The palm is unlikely to disappear completely. Homeowners and developers may continue to plant them in private property, despite the threats to and from them. The city has committed to preserving palm trees in areas of historical importance such as Hollywood and parts of the city center, but it focuses on cultivating the types of climate reference and creating equitable Urban forests.
“Most of the palm trees were not a good solution,” said Margolis. “We need to change the visualization of Los Angeles. When it comes to living things, we must really respect the original trees and the indigenous people in this field and we will really die here.”
