California without palm trees?

Last December and then again in January, I was surprised by the sound of saws on the windiest Santa Ana days. The city of Riverside had a major palm trimming operation this winter--the first that I'd ever seen. All down Alessandro, Arlington, Victoria, and Central, the palm trees now look like extra skinny giraffes instead of wooly mammoths. I was afraid for the tree trimmers, but apparently they all survived.

In the meantime, there's a new awareness of the hazards of palm trees, particularly fan palms. In various Inland Empire cities, there's talk now of phasing out the palm trees due to the fire hazard. What will southern California be like without palm trees? Hard to imagine, but considering that most of these palms are not native to the area and were only planted in the last century, we might not be saying good-bye to a truly California landscape.

Click on the links below to see some recent Press Enterprise articles:
San Bernardino fire and palm trees
Inland Empire cutting back on palm trees