What makes a plant more resistant
Plants with moist, supple leaves, low resin content, open growth and little dead wood ignite less easily than dense, oily or dry ones. A well-watered lawn or a bed of low perennials burns less readily than a hedge of junipers full of dead needles. Even a resistant plant will burn if it is dry, dead or overgrown.
The University of Nevada, Reno Extension's Living With Fire guide includes plant guidance for each zone and names junipers among the high-fire-hazard plants to remove from Zone 0. See junipers and other high-hazard plants.
Why it matters in Northern Nevada
Our dry summers, hot winds and low rainfall mean that plants stress and dry out early. A resistant species planted against the wall and then left to go dry and woody is no longer resistant. Spacing, pruning out dead wood and keeping plants watered are what keep a landscape lean.
Trees count too. A tree near the house is a fuel as well as shade, and some species, such as pines and junipers, are more flammable than a deciduous shade tree.
What an arborist does about it
Battle Born removes trees and shrubs that raise fire risk close to the house and prunes the ones that stay: lifting canopies, taking out dead wood and spacing crowns. We do not plant trees or design landscapes, so for a planting list use the Living With Fire guide or a local nursery. The arborist walks the zones with you and tells you what to take out. See defensible space and fire mitigation.
Because we do not design plantings, the arborist's job is the existing trees: thin them, lift them, and remove the ones that are too close or too flammable. For new plants, use the Extension guide's lists.
Sources
- University of Nevada, Reno Extension: Living With Fire (SP-23-07) (read October 17, 2026)
- University of Nevada Cooperative Extension: Gardening Guide for High-Desert Urban Landscapes (read October 17, 2026)