A Discussion On Mountain Pine Beetles And Fire Risks

The mountain pine beetle epidemic has affected 8 million acres in the inner mountain west. That includes land in Montana, Wyoming and British Columbia. The beetles have drastically changed  forests, killing  trees  by laying eggs under the bark. During a pine beetle attack the needles enter different phases the “red needle phase” the gray phase” and the “down phase”. One question that keeps coming up is, “Do the mountain pine beetle outbreaks increase wild land fire risk”. Information Officer from the Montana DNRC, Paula Short says this question and more will be answered in an upcoming forum.

 “Mountain Pine Beetle & Fire: The Science Behind The risks forum will be held at the Red Lion Colonial Inn in Helena on May 4th.