Why isn't there any mention of the role of bark beetles in the forest fires?

[NickB79]

I've heard virtually nothing about how bark beetles have killed millions of acres of forestland in the Western US as their population has exploded from warmer-than-normal winters. Millions of acres of dead pine forests can't be good for forest fire control, especially in a drought like we have now. Why is this vital piece of the puzzle being so overlooked?

[SoutherDem]

1. Don't know

but I have seen lots of trees dying my my area, might be bark beetles.

[Stargazer09]

2. My guess

I think it's easier to just pretend that forest fires are a part of life. The news channels aren't really interested in educating the public, especially when blaming the bark beetle infestations would lead to discussions about climate change.

After all, the public isn't supposed to care about the climate, right?

[El Supremo]

3. It's been mentioned quite a bit in the Colorado press.

The High Park fire was in a lot of the kill area.

[oldhippydude]

4. probably for a couple of reasons...

first of all theres no substitute for water... healthy pine trees will push the bark beetles out.. this is known as "pitch out... obviosly no water no sap flow..sort of like low water pressure from a hose... secondly the ips bark beettle that attacks pine trees is also a vector for blue stain fungus, that further constricts the sap flow and is 100% fatal in its own right.. besides the pitch out which entirely dependant on the trees health other natural controls are woodpeckers ect, there are simply not enough of them for control..


when i was involved years ago in pest control, there were a couple of "cures" one was lindane a clorinated hyrocarbon (think ddt).. the other was a systemic called dysyston pretty nasty stuff in its own right (pets were killed chewing on a branch)... while these controls worked on high value landscape trees, it would be cost ineffective, as well as an ecological dister to use them on the scale nesesary to for control in a forest..

[kestrel91316]

5. It's talked about all the time. Now, they could stand to spend more time

discussing how the trees are being attacked because they are weakened by chronic drought which is a direct consequence of climate change, but at this point I think most people with 2 neurons to rub together have figured out that it's linked to the messed up climate.