Beetles Bring Devastation And Extreme Fire Danger To Southern California Forests

IDYLLWILD, CA - JULY 23: The forest continues to die near Tahquitz Rock, famous among climbers as a pioneering site of much rock climbing technique development, even though two to three thousand beetle-infested trees have already been removed from the immediate area July 23, 2003 in Idyllwild, California. Southern California's native pines are being wiped-out by exploding populations of several species of bark beetles, a result of four years of the worst recorded drought since records began in 1849. Infected forests are expected to lose at least 75-95 percent of their trees creating unprecedented wildfire danger in the "ghost forests" of dead trees. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)