House Sitting in Fire Season: Eucalyptus and Bushfire Safety

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Fire season is becoming a genuine, recurring part of summer across large parts of southern Europe, not just Australia and California, and most sitters heading into these regions have no real framework for thinking about it. I grew up in Australia, where bushfire season is simply part of the year. This article is what that upbringing actually looks like translated into practical advice for house sitting.

We are currently on a six-month sit in Portugal, in a region directly affected by fire risk this summer. Caro and I have also driven through an active bushfire together back in Australia, nothing catastrophic, but the entire road was covered in white smoke with flames visible in the distance. That kind of thing is treated as a normal part of Australian summer. It is becoming a normal part of Mediterranean summer too, and I want to walk through what that actually means, slowly and properly, rather than throwing a list of warnings at you.

The Tree Behind a Lot of This

If there is one thing worth understanding properly before anything else, it is eucalyptus. It is native to Australia, and in the 1800s it was exported around the world, largely as an ornamental tree. People planted it because it is genuinely beautiful. Nobody planting it in Spain or Portugal a hundred years ago was thinking about fire behaviour, because at the time, fire behaviour in those countries did not look the way it does now.

Here is why it matters so much. Eucalyptus leaves and bark contain oil glands, and in a serious fire, that oil does not just burn, it can effectively explode, throwing burning embers on the wind well beyond the tree itself, sometimes several kilometres. That is the part people underestimate most. A fire that looks like it is safely in the distance can, within minutes, start a completely new fire somewhere else entirely, simply because the wind carried a burning ember from a eucalyptus tree that far.

And the tree has a second trick that makes the whole situation worse over time. Eucalyptus seeds are specifically adapted to germinate after fire, more so than most of the native vegetation around them. So when an area burns, eucalyptus does not just survive, it comes back thicker than before, while whatever was growing alongside it often does not return at all. Plant eucalyptus, wait long enough for a fire, and you end up with more eucalyptus than you started with. Repeat that cycle over a century of ornamental planting, and you get exactly the kind of dense, fire-prone groves currently burning across parts of southern Europe.

This is not a fringe theory. The same pattern was widely reported as a factor in the 2017 Portugal wildfires that killed more than 60 people, and again in the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, confirmed at the time by California fire officials and Australian climate researchers looking at the same tree, the same oil, the same behaviour, just a different continent.

A recent example, for context. In late July 2026, wildfires across Spain and France forced more than 325,000 people to evacuate, with fatalities reported. Eucalyptus groves were widely reported as a significant factor in how fast those fires spread. By the time you read this, that specific event may already be resolved, we are including it here as a real, dated illustration of everything above, not as a live update. This pattern is very likely to recur in future summers, in different specific locations.

How Australia Actually Manages This, and Why It's Different Here

Australia did not arrive at its current relationship with fire by accident. It came from decades of living with a genuine, recurring bushfire season, and it shows up in a few concrete practices that most of Europe simply has not needed until recently.

The first is backburning. Firefighters deliberately set controlled fires, using a canister that drips fuel onto the ground and ignites a specific section, usually worked inward toward a center point so the whole area burns evenly and predictably. Hoses and containment crews stay on standby the entire time, because even a fire started on purpose can be pushed by strong wind and behave unpredictably.

The point of doing this regularly is simple: remove the dead vegetation that would otherwise sit there building up as fuel, so that when a real fire does happen during extreme heat, there is less for it to burn through. It is treated as normal, necessary maintenance, not a drastic measure.

The second is defensible space, and I have direct experience with this one. I worked on the mowing and land management crew for Ballina Shire Council in Australia, and part of the job was clearing roughly 5 to 10 metres of grass and vegetation around public land bordering private properties, specifically to stop fire from spreading straight into someone's garden.

The council did the same behind homes backing onto bushland, cutting it back regularly through the year rather than letting it build up. If you are looking at a property in any fire-prone region, this is worth checking yourself: is there an actual clear buffer between the house and any dense vegetation, particularly eucalyptus, pine, or dry scrub?

Have the gutters been cleared recently, since dry leaf litter sitting in a gutter is a real ignition point during an ember attack? Does the property have anything like roof sprinklers? None of this guarantees safety, homes with all of this in place still burn sometimes, fire genuinely is unpredictable, but it changes the odds meaningfully, and it is worth knowing what to actually look for rather than just hoping for the best.

The third is something closer to a cultural habit than a formal system. I worked as an outdoor instructor for Outward Bound Australia, taking groups, often kids, into the bush, and fire safety briefings were a standard, serious part of every trip. Total fire ban days meant exactly that, no fires at all, no exceptions.

Growing up there, walking through visible smoke during summer is just normal, some days you cannot see further than twenty or thirty metres because of it. You get used to it, and that constant, low-level exposure is exactly why fire risk gets taken seriously rather than treated as a rare emergency. Regions newer to serious fire seasons have not built up that same instinct yet, and that gap in lived experience, more than any single missing policy, is a real part of why recent fire seasons have hit so hard.

Recognising Real Danger, Not Just Distant Smoke

The single most important thing I can pass on is this: a fire visible in the distance does not mean you are safe. Embers, what I would call ember bombs, can be carried several kilometres ahead of the actual fire front on the wind and start a completely new fire somewhere that looked perfectly fine a few minutes earlier.

Fires driven by eucalyptus oil move fast too, fast enough to cross a road in seconds, and burn hot enough to melt metal. So the moment you can genuinely see smoke or flame anywhere in the distance, that is the moment to start preparing, not the moment it reaches the property line. Bring the pets together in one room so they can be gathered quickly if needed. If there is a car available, have it packed and ready to go before you think you need it.

Watch the pets closely during all of this too, because they often notice before you do. Restlessness, attempts to flee, hiding, any unusual behaviour in response to smoke or fire nearby is a genuine signal worth acting on, not something to dismiss as them just being anxious.

If it does come to actually leaving, the order of priority is simple and not up for negotiation: yourself first, the pets second, the property last. This is not your home, and no homeowner would want you risking your life or the animals' lives trying to protect their belongings. If there is genuinely time, cut the grass, clean the gutters, water down the area around the house, then take the pets and, only if there is a real spare moment, whatever the homeowner would consider truly irreplaceable.

Then go, and do not wait for an official evacuation order if conditions are clearly getting worse, by the time an order is issued, you may already have very little time left.

Get in touch with the homeowner once you are safely clear, not before. Finding out about a fire near their own home from the news, with no word at all from the person looking after it, is a far worse experience for them than a slightly delayed message. Regular updates afterward, and the simple fact that you were prepared and had everything ready, reassures them you handled it seriously, and gives them the chance to make their own decisions, including coming home early if that is what they want.

What to Actually Ask Before You Confirm a Sit

If you are considering a sit anywhere with a real fire season, southern Europe, California, Australia, or similar regions, this is worth raising directly on the pre-sit video call rather than assuming it will be fine.

Ask whether there is significant eucalyptus, pine, or dry scrub on or near the property, and whether there is any real defensible space around the house. Ask whether the area has been affected by fire before. Ask what the homeowner's own evacuation plan looks like, and whether there is a local emergency alert system worth signing up for as soon as you arrive.

And ask specifically about pet carriers and transport, since evacuating with animals under pressure is a genuinely different logistical problem to evacuating alone.

Conclusion

Fire season is becoming a standing part of summer across a growing number of house sitting destinations, not a single unlucky year to wait out. Growing up with bushfire season as a normal part of life gave me a practical, lived understanding of what regions newer to this risk are now facing, and the honest version of that knowledge is less about panic and more about preparation: know the tree, know the space around the house, know the priority order, and ask the right questions before you ever confirm the sit.

Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting. If you are currently on a sit in a fire-affected area and need advice, DM us @housesittersguide, we answer everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why are eucalyptus trees such a big factor in wildfire risk?

  Eucalyptus oil glands can effectively explode in intense heat, throwing burning embers several kilometres on the wind and starting new fires well ahead of the main fire front. It is not native to most of the regions it now grows in, and its seeds are specifically adapted to germinate after fire, letting it expand its footprint with every fire cycle.

• What is backburning and does Europe do it?

  Backburning is a deliberate, controlled fire set by firefighters to remove built-up dead vegetation before it can fuel an uncontrolled blaze, standard practice in Australia. Southern Europe has not historically needed the same institutional approach at this scale, which is part of why recent fire seasons have proven difficult to manage.

• How far can embers travel from a fire?

  Embers can be carried several kilometres ahead of a fire front in strong wind, occasionally further in extreme conditions, and can start entirely new fires well away from the visible blaze. A fire that looks distant does not mean you are safe.

• What should a house sitter do first if a wildfire is approaching?

  Gather pets into one room so they can be moved quickly, pack a car if one is available, and treat visible smoke or distant flame as the signal to start preparing, not wait for an official evacuation order. If conditions are deteriorating, leave. Your safety and the pets' safety come before the property, always.

• Do pets sense wildfires before humans notice?

  Often, yes. Restlessness, attempts to flee, or hiding in response to smoke or fire nearby should be treated as a genuine warning sign, not dismissed.

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