By The Associated Press
WENATCHEE — The state Department of Natural Resources says large areas of forests in northeast Washington are in danger of catastrophic wildfires because trees have been killed or weakened by bug infestations.
Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark Goldmark has issued a Forest Health Hazard Warning to landowners in portions of Okanogan, Ferry, Klickitat and Yakima counties.
Goldmark said landowners should thin the trees or harvest timber to restore more normal forest conditions.
A century of fire suppression has led dense forests of Douglas fir to replace forests once dominated by insect-resistant Ponderosa pines, the Wenatchee World newspaper reported.
Dense forests stress individual trees, leaving them vulnerable to insect damage.
For more information, click on www.dnr.wa.gov/foresthealth .
