Summit County: Even if trees aren`t directly killed by drought, the ongoing stress of dry conditions can lead to more tree mortality in the aftermath of forest fires and prescribed burns.
The findings come from a new study that took a close look at varied forest types around the west, including in Colorado`s Rocky Mountain National Park.
Most of the data was compiled in areas where agencies conducted prescribed fires between 1984 and 2005. The researchers looked at more than 7,000 individual conifers.
They...