"California's drought led to the deaths of 12.5 million trees in the state's forests last year, leaving behind huge amounts of dry fuel that could burn easily as the summer wildfire season begins, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday.
The dead trees, visible from the air as red patches in the forest, were weakened by drought and in many cases then killed by bark beetles, which have infested the state's forests and thrive in the warm, dry conditions.
"In some places, we had 100 percent mortality," said Jeffrey Moore, a biological scientist with the Forest Service whose team mapped the dead trees by airplane last month."
Sharon Bernstein reports for Reuters May 4, 2015.
Source: Reuters, 05/05/2015
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