Doom the Broom

The Terribly Tenacious Broom  

Quick to sprout and grow into attractive, yellow-blooming shrubs after wildfires, broom in turn greatly increases future wildfire danger. Plants are highly flammable. Young shrubs quickly grow into thick, tall, woody thickets that can reach high into the forest canopy. With broom in the understory, even wildfires that start low to the ground can soon “burn high” and consume the entire landscape.

Worse yet, broom plants are prolific seed producers. By some estimates, a single plant can produce 3,500 seed pods and disperse 20,000 seeds—each of those seeds remaining viable (able to sprout into a new plant) for a very long time.

Sure, they’re pretty. But broom plants, now choking the entire Camp Fire burn scar, are invasive plants that present a serious fire hazard.

Because it “outcompetes” native vegetation, broom is an ecosystem hazard. It effectively removes the plants that birds and other wild animals rely on for food and shelter.

Now well-established as a noxious weed throughout the western and eastern U.S., broom was first imported from Europe and North Africa in the mid-1800s. After it escaped cultivation, it was also intentionally planted in the wild for erosion control.

An Important Timeline for Broom Eradication

For Effective Broom Removal, Pay Careful Attention to Timing!

  • Always remember – Keep at it! – Broom will continue to germinate for years to come. It is essential to continue to eradicate year after year, especially in years 1-3.
  • Dooming the Broom is easier at specific times of the year. Click on the calendar link below to see when it is easiest to eliminate broom!
  • Continue to eradicate the broom seed bank year after year, and we work towards broom-free communities.
    Thank you for your efforts, and keep it up!

How the Fire Safe Council can Help 

Member Weed Wrench Lending Program
The best way to “doom the broom” is to pull it up, root and all, which is easy when plants are young. Older plants with deep taproots can be leveraged up and out of the ground with the help of a “weed wrench”.

As one of its community fire safety programs, the Butte County Fire Safe Council lends weed wrenches to members on a first-come basis (and also maintains a waiting list). This weed wrench lending program is free and requires a scan of a driver’s license or Identification Card. No security deposit is required. When you return the tool, your ID photocopy will be shredded or returned to you. 

Additional Information to Combat Broom

Below are links to additional information that dives a little deeper into the science of broom, and how to eliminate it.