Patchy fires may allow individual plants to survive in protected areas such as on rocky cliffs. More rarely, portions of a lightly-burned plant may survive.
Survival can occur if fire affects only part of an area or where fires are of low intensity.
Common juniper does not sprout after disturbance. Surviving individuals serve as sources of seed for adjacent areas. Common juniper also reestablishes after fire through off-site seed dispersed by birds or mammals. It is possible that seed protected by overlying soil can survive at least some fires. After low-severity fires, some seed may germinate.