Yes you are correct. The mountain pine beetle has been around here for years and has killed millions of trees. In many areas, as far as the eye can see, there are huge swaths (1000's of acres) of brown dead trees caused by the beetle. It is almost unfathomable to believe that such a small beetle can wreck so much havoc.

These dead trees do contribute to forest fire situations, however right now the biggest problem is lack of rain. Any little rain in the summer months is usually accompanied by thunder/lightning which then causes more fires...it is a viscoius cycle that does not usually end until mid to late September when the rains are heavy and more frequent enough to slow the fires so that the crews can get them under control or the fires die out naturally.