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Pacific communities planting fire-retardant trees to help prevent another wildfire disaster like Maui

The fires that devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui have shown that rising sea levels are not the only threat faced by Pacific islands.

Key points:

Like in Maui, decades of land clearing in the Pacific have led to the growth of flammable grasses
Planting trees with dense, water-heavy leaves could help prevent a build up of fuel for fires
Indigenous fire practices and other measures are being used to mitigate fire risk amid El Niño

More than 115 residents have been confirmed dead and hundreds remain missing after a wildfire tore through the town of Lāhainā last month.

Investigations into the cause of the fires are ongoing, but the conditions that contributed to the devastating inferno are not isolated to the island of Maui — they are replicated across the Pacific.

Decades of agriculture on Maui — including pineapple plantations and sugar cane production — led to the clearing of land.

Invasive species — including guinea and molasses grasses from Africa — then sprung up on disused land, which helped to create a “tinderbox”, experts have said.

Many Pacific islands have this problem where forest or woody vegetation has been cleared away, farmland might have been abandoned, and it becomes overrun with these robust, often African grasses that are highly flammable,” according to David Bowman, a fire expert from the University of Tasmania.

Plants such as grasses, shrubs or dead leaves can act as fuel, which make the possibility of extreme wildfires more likely.

Fires can erupt in these grassy landscapes more easily, spread rapidly and affect nearby bush and homes.

“Climate is a very important contributor to wildfire. But fuel is also very important,” Dr Bowman said.

Could sea hibiscus be a solution?

Planting the right type of trees could provide a solution, researchers hope.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-01/could-fire-retardant-trees-new-caledonia-help-prevent-fires-maui/102787726