Is It Time For LA To Ditch The Palm Tree? Report

LOS ANGELES, CA — Palm trees are synonymous with the Los Angeles skyline, but a not-so-fun fact — they aren't native to the area and they helped fuel fires that devastated swaths of Southern California earlier this year.

Some experts think it's time to remove the towering icons from LA altogether.

“I’m not of the mind that we need to eradicate palms from our cities entirely,” said Bryan Vejar, a master arborist for TreePeople, told The Washington Post. “But when we’re talking about the functional value that trees give us, it just doesn’t make sense to plant these species en masse.”

Palm trees also don't lend much shade to an area that tends to become hot and dry for a prolonged amount of time in some seasons — like the arid period that preceded the LA fires in January. The neighborhood-leveling Eaton and Palisades fires burned thousands of homes and killed at least 29 people.

Today, there are about 100,000 palm trees that line streets and parks in the city of LA, the Post reported. As fears grow about rising climates and more intense wildfire seasons, some are calling for action.

According to Nick Jensen, a conservation program director at the California Native Plant Society, the tree's tall trunks act as a "fuel ladder" that allows flames to reach high up into the area. Meanwhile, their brown and dried fronds act as a "catcher's mitt" for flying embers.

Read more from The Washington Post.