In a state where wildfire season is never truly over, Barath Raghavan, an associate professor of computer science, is one of many researchers across the Viterbi School of Engineering working on innovating approaches to mitigate wildfire risk in Southern California and beyond.
Since 2017, Raghavan has been exploring the potential of banana trees as wildfire buffers. These water-rich trees act as natural fire breaks and could reduce fireline intensity by 96%, according to a 2023 study published in PNAS Nexus.
In this study, Raghavan and his team used simulations based on a major fire to evaluate mitigation strategies. They found that banana tree buffers planted 633 meters wide could significantly reduce fire intensity—achieving results comparable to mechanical thinning and prescribed burns.
Beyond their fire-resistant properties, banana trees, when irrigated with recycled water, could also produce profitable banana crops. Even if burned, banana trees will resprout, ensuring continued fire protection and utility.
“Even though I’m a computer scientist, I have a lot of interest in California climate, weather and agroecology,” said Raghavan. “So, I come at it from an engineering perspective: What are the unique challenges that we face here?”