While Los Angeles is still in the grip of unprecedented wildfires, canna agriculture is not spared from these devastating blazes. How can we combat this scourge? Here are some answers.
It’s often said of Mediterranean forests that they need fire to live. This is partly true. Certain coniferous species benefit from fires. The flames eradicate their competitors and burst the branches, spreading the seeds that will colonize the burnt area.
In the American West, cannabis growers don’t profit from fires: they suffer from them. And now they have to adapt to the new climate. By warming California’s climate in particular, climate change has reduced rainfall and increased temperatures.
A growing risk
Already undermined by urbanization, the forest is more fragile and burns more easily. In the 1970s, California’s annual fire season lasted 140 days. Since the turn of the century, this figure has risen to 230 days a year. According to Californian fire department statistics, 17 of the 20 biggest fires recorded since the beginning of the 20th century occurred between 2003 and 2020.
Cannabiculture growers in California, Oregon and Washington State, often located in forested areas or on the edge of woods, are beginning to adapt. Borrowing a simple technique from power grid managers: move the forest away.
Sanitary cordon
Using chainsaws, they establish a sanitary cordon between the trees and plantations. This preventive clearing prevents or slows the spread of flames. When the risk of fire is high, some don’t hesitate to build firebreaks some fifteen meters wide all around their property. In this way, safety gains, while landscaping loses.
As foresters do in some Mediterranean countries, water reservoirs are also placed at the four corners of farms. In the event of fire, this makes fighting the flames faster and more effective. Some plantations are also equipped with sprinklers. The micro-droplets of water spread the fire and lower the ambient temperature. In this case, however, be sure to have a back-up electricity generator to power the pumps in the event of a power cut.
Sprinklers and water jets
Last but not least: growers also equip their farm chimneys with zinc caps. Aesthetics have nothing to do with it. By capping their chimneys in this way, they prevent any brandons from falling inside the house: one less fire hazard.
After the fire, it’s imperative to wash the plants with a jet of water. The accumulation of ashes on the leaves can contaminate the plants with heavy metals, which can be found in the finished products.
