An example around here is a large plant called a laurel sumac. It has a reputation for going off like a roman candle in a brush fire. The irony is that it's actually a fire-resistant plant on account of that it stays green all year long even in the worst drought. No one seemed to have looked into *why* they explode into fireballs in a brush fire. This particular plants is evergreen, but it drops a lot of leaves all year round. After 30 years there's a huge bed of dry leaves under them, which does ignite like throwing pine needles on a fire. When the conflagration passes the plant is burnt to a crisp, hence the reputation. If the leaves are cleared out and the plant limbed up a little bit it shades the ground, prevents undergrowth by allelopathy, and will not ignite when exposed to embers. The fire regulations require them to be cut down. I would personally feel more comfortable with 300 feet of these plants around my home than 300 feet of bare ground that will be all kinds of flash fuels a month after a rain.