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Here is an eye opening graphic:
One widely circulated myth is that the main cause or even a major contributor to the current wildfires in California are dead trees. What is true is that over the last 10 years, we've seen a massive number of dead and dying trees due to drought and the bark beetle.
However, what may be surprising, is that the biggest and most destructive fires have mostly not been in the areas with the highest tree mortality. They have been in chaparral areas [lower elevation foothills with brush] and in areas with homes in the wildland/urban interface. Neighborhoods surrounded by wild terrain.
Over time, we will likely see more fires in the areas with higher tree mortality but as of now, most of the big, deadly, and destructive fires have not happened in those areas. Removing dead trees, especially in communities infested with bark beetle trees, is a good idea. Nobody wants to live next to a dead tree that could fall over or be dead dry wood that would burn easily in a fire.
The issue is that saying dead trees from the drought are the reason these fires were so big and destructive is not really the case so far. There is one thing that all of these fires have in common, they all broke out during abnormally sustained, hot and dry conditions. All of them.
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