Tucson Fire Department and Tucson Bird Alliance team up to take on buffel grass

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Concerns over buffel grass are growing across some of our neighborhoods as officials say the fire hazard threatens not only our communities, but also wildlife.

Now, the Tucson Fire Department and Tucson Bird Alliance have teamed up to raise awareness about the invasive species.

Buffel grass is an invasive species in Arizona.

And, without treatment, if this catches on fire, it could put all of this nature at risk.

Tucson Bird Alliance Invasive Plant Director Tony Figueroa has worked closely with the wildlife here at Reddington Pass. Wildlife, he says, is put in danger by buffel grass.

"We are a ticking time bomb for when these fires are going to erupt and when they’re going to burn at a catastrophic fire intensity that just wipes out our saguaros," Figueroa said.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, more than 534 species of birds exist in southern Arizona.

And if the buffel grass catches fire, the ecosystem they rely on will go up in flames.

"Our birds, our wildlife, they depend on these plants in order to persist year after year," Figueroa said.

Both Tucson Fire Department and Tucson Bird Alliance told KGUN that buffel grass can burn at temperatures of up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, creating a fire hazard that threatens the whole city.

That’s where the Tucson Fire Department comes in.

"We contacted the Tucson bird alliance to see if we can get some expertise from a conservation standpoint," TFD Fire Inspector Joseph Castro stated. "We have a huge birding following here in Tucson. So keeping those habitats fire-free, not damaged, is a big economic impact to Tucson.

But buffel grass is not just a threat to wildlife.

Various patches of the plant can be found near homes all over the city.

"So, especially buffel grass has flame lengths that are longer than most plants, that would get up into your eaves, catch your attic on fire, and then continue," Castro said. "So from a fire department standpoint, we’re trying to get that under control."

With buffel grass endangering our homes, TBA and TFD are raising awareness about ways to treat the grass through grazing and trimming.

"We’re trying to inspire the community through work with folks like the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, the Tucson Fire Department, to come up with ways for people to defend their houses in the same way that we’re defending these houses for our desert animals," Figueroa said.

TFD and TBA say that removing buffel grass from your homes is an important part of keeping the community safe.

Anyone who wants to remove the buffel grass from their yards can treat it by using herbicides and trimming the invasive species, keeping it away from their homes.

"There's a lot of buffel grass along the side of the road," Castro said. Make sure you're cleaning up your yard and helping your neighbors clean up the yard, or volunteer in your neighborhood to get some of the buffel grass out of the washes. There are a lot of little things that go a long way to try to help combat this invasive species."