[rintense]

It was my understanding that it isn't necessarily dead trees, bark beetles, etc. that add fuel to a forest fire, but it is more the uncontrolled undergrowth of junk trees that grow under the forest canopy. Hell, those trees are only good for pulp and mulch. Of course, from the envirowacko POV, someone will profit! Unfortunately, they don't see that the people and the environment will BOTH win by forest thinning.

[RonF]

Any biomass can contribute to a fire. The normal situation is that the percentage of dead and standing trees is low; a certain percentage die every year, eventually fall down, rot, etc. But in this particular case you had a insect infestation that ran through a forest area and created an abnormal situation.