California has 27M more dead trees than in 2016, but numbers may be easing in some areas

Cheri Carlson | Ventura

Show Caption Hide Caption This is how the drought killed so many trees Since 2010, officials estimate 129 million trees died in California.

More than 129 million trees died as California’s drought dragged on for years, but those numbers may be starting to level off in some parts of the state.

That is, at least for now.

Shortchanged on water and nutrients, more and more trees became vulnerable to insect attacks and died.

‘An ongoing drought’

A 2016 aerial survey reported 260,000 more dead trees in Los Padres National Forest. Then the area got above-normal rainfall for the first time in years.

In 2017, the survey reported far fewer dead trees – an estimated 152,000 in all of Los Padres and 115,000 in Ventura County.

MORE: Forecast: More drought ahead for Ventura County, Southern California

“We’re still in an ongoing drought,” said Greg Thompson, forester in Los Padres. “We won’t find out until later on this summer whether activity has picked up this year.”

Locally, areas near Frazier Park and Lockwood Valley have been hit hardest. Figueroa Mountain in Santa Barbara County also had big losses.

State and federal officials have called California’s tree die-off unprecedented — one that increases the risk of wildfire and has prompted calls for changes to managing forests.

Since 2010, 129 million trees have died

Statewide, the U.S. Forest Service estimates 129 million trees have died since 2010. Last year, an aerial survey found roughly 27 million more dead trees since the 2016 flights.

Most of those were in the Sierra Nevada range from Kern to El Dorado counties.

“Up in the Sierras, there are some stands where there are no trees left,” Thompson said.

Even in Los Padres, Jeffrey pines still showed increased mortality in 2017. Surveys found an estimated 36,000 dead trees in 2016 and 120,000 in 2017.

“Trees aren’t getting moisture that they need to be healthy and they’re stressed,” said Susan Kocher, a natural resources adviser for UC Cooperative Extension. “We had a huge insect outbreak because of the drought.”

Kocher, based in South Lake Tahoe, focuses on the Central Sierra, where stands of ponderosa pines were hit hard by beetle attacks.

Under normal conditions, some insects can help the health of the forest. They attack overly mature, diseased, dying trees. Meanwhile, the healthier trees can fight off attacks.

During the drought, however, more and more trees became too stressed to do so.

The highest risk of fire is when trees still have their needles – the so-called “red and dead” phase, Kocher said.

Green needles turn red, and those dried-out needles are a particularly flashy fuel, like tinder in a campfire. Once the needles fall off, the risk drops a bit.

MORE: Ventura County residents warned of hot, dry conditions ahead, urged to prepare for fire

But when those dead trees eventually fall down, they’ll end up creating piles of dry logs on the forest floor. In a wildfire, those burn hotter and longer.

“It’s not something we’ve typically experienced in the past,” Kocher said.

Not enough resources to remove all dead trees

With such a huge die-off, there are not enough resources to get dead trees out of the woods, she said. The focus has been getting them out of areas where they pose an immediate threat to people.

In Los Padres, removal efforts have focused on areas near trails, campgrounds and roads, Thompson said. That work has picked up as the drought dragged on.

The forest also has proposed thinning projects to reduce the number of trees competing for the same resources.

“If it kills the whole stand, there’s not much you can do,” Thompson said. “But if there are green trees standing, that’s where you are going to be most effective.”

Different species get hit by different bugs, which boom and bust at different times.

While mortality among Jeffrey pines went up in 2017, it declined among white firs, Coulter pines and oaks, according to the survey.

Forest officials urged hikers and campers to be aware of their surroundings and that trees can fall without warning. For more tips, go to https://www.fs.fed.us/visit/know-before-you-go/hazard-trees.

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