Re: Inevitability of a fire

Couple of things here:

Talking to a forest guy, he said the the older, dead beetle kill trees are actually less dangerous than live trees or recently killed trees. That's because they are no longer filled with sap which is a huge fuel source, one that exploves and can really burn intensely. Harder to light off, of course, but hugely hard to put out. They have much more energy to burn.

Also, most insurance companies that handle buildings in wooded areas REQUIRE a certain amount of clear cutting or risk losing coverage. When we bought a place near Alma, the realtor also required the seller to do that or she wouldn't list the property. Of course, not everybody follows the rules, but these days a large percentage in the forestop u Der stand and comply.

Mike Conder