Bark beetles may kill trees, but that may not raise fire risk
Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 23:28
in Earth & Climate
A study in the Yellowstone region finds that the infestations actually reduced the risk of wildfire by thinning tree crowns. The bark beetle has spread across the West since the 1990s.Dire warnings have accompanied the armies of bark beetles that bored their way across the Mountain West in the past decade: Millions of acres had turned into a tinderbox of scraggly, dead trees ready to explode in flames.