I lost three of these pines to these things and you don't know it until they are already too far gone. I've got one left. And the bad thing is that the trees have to come down immediately or they can break in the middle and land on your house. That's why it is dangerous to build your house in the middle of a pine forrest. This was is in East Texas.
Removing big dead trees near your home is an excellent idea.
Building a defensible area around your home is also a good idea for fire protection. The local fire dept should offer some good ideas.
Sorry about your three trees. Hopefully you made lumber or firewood from them.