She said there is some evidence that insect outbreaks decrease severe fire behavior, which mirrors the findings of the new paper. (scientificamerican.com)
Knowing that drought increases fire danger, firefighters have long kept routine daily measurements of fuel moisture to help anticipate fire behavior. (newsdeeply.com)
That opens a small window in which severe fire behavior can take place because the dead needles create a new source of dry fuels to burn. (scientificamerican.com)