With 27 dead, 100,000 acres burned, and an estimated $275 billion in damage that’s only bound to increase, California’s current wildfires are both an administrative and environmental disaster, being the most destructive in the state’s history. With a change in government expected soon, there is no doubt a change in approach to current and future wildfires is needed too.

Musk stated on X that the “biggest factor, in my opinion, is that crazy environmental regulations prevent building firebreaks and clearing brush near houses.” Indeed, he is right. Environmental policy has entirely exacerbated the current damage. But brush perhaps was not the main culprit. Considering brush mostly consists of native species that are relatively fire-resistant to begin with, such as Chaparral Yucca or California Sagebrush, it is unlikely the benefit of clearing this brush would have outweighed the loss of habitat these plants provide to California’s most endangered wildlife, including the Los Angeles Pocket Mouse (an endemic species) and California Condor.

Biological adaptations in brush plants, in fact, help slow the spread of fire. Thick, resinous, or oily leaves reduce a plant’s flammability. Even if a plant did catch fire, the presence of these oils may cause a fire to burn more slowly and with less intensity. In having oily or waxy leaves, these plants have extraordinary moisture-retaining capabilities that reduce the likelihood of fire spreading. Thick, dense, or corky stems provide a protective layer for the plant but also decrease the probability of combustion. Even if these fire-resistant plants, known as pyrophytes, did alight, their post-fire regeneration capabilities are phenomenal. Often, the root systems of these plants remain intact, providing the soil with structural integrity, and thus shoots are quickly able to sprout once the fire has subsided and the mineral content of the soil is not compromised as greatly.

It is rather through California’s atrocious water management that these natural protection mechanisms in plants were not able to perform to peak efficiency. California’s water management is perhaps the most inefficient in the country. Approximately 10-20% of water in urban areas is lost through infrastructure such as leaky pipes. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is responsible for a large proportion of the area currently under fire. As LA’s water infrastructure continues to age with weak efforts in repairment, leaky pipes have become more frequent. This not only results in some of the highest water prices in the country but also a redirection of remaining water resources to agriculture and urban areas, leaving native pyrophytic plants high and dry.

Although adapted to drought conditions, the extremity of water scarcity many of these plants have been experiencing results in the degradation of their biologically adapted fire-resistant defences. As a result of the current administration’s inability to prevent water loss, dehydrated plants burn more easily and are unable to regenerate the ecosystem they are part of. Drought-stressed pyrophytic plants have reduced water content in their tissues, making them more vulnerable to damage from fire and not able to maintain resinous leaves that decrease the rate of burning. Additionally, like all plants, without sufficient water, the plants cannot produce new shoots, leaves, or branches, leading to stunted growth or complete failure to regenerate. This leads to the structure of soil being compromised and soil infertility, which will affect the future of Southern California’s agricultural industry as well as natural wildlife.

Let’s hope, with a change of leadership coming imminently, the 100 million gallons of water that are squandered via infrastructure inadequacy are redirected towards protecting California’s pyrophytes, which stabilize fire conditions, provide a unique habitat for native wildlife, and support Californian soil health, rather than to waste.