Wet weather nips beetles

Conifers in the Angeles National Forest and other local mountain ranges can better resist bark beetles after heavy rain and snow this winter, reducing fire hazards later in the year.

Laura Merrill, an entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service, says bark beetles can’t bore into trees efficiently because pines and firs produce more resin in wet years. However, some beetle species will persist and continue to threaten forests.

Beetles inhabit stands of trees in mountains from San Diego County to the Riverside-San Bernardino area to Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Thousands of dead trees helped fuel devastating wildfires two years ago.

-- Scott Doggett