DENVER—The U.S. Forest Service in Colorado is urging the public to watch out for beetle-infested trees in the forests because they can easily fall.
Forest managers say shallow-rooted trees in areas cleared of beetle-killed trees are also hazardous because they’re more exposed to the wind, making them easier to uproot.
The Forest Service has removed hazardous trees from 268 campgrounds and along 89 miles of trails over the past nine months. Forest managers have also had contractors remove beetle-infested trees from along 258 miles of roads in areas hit hardest by the bark beetle epidemic.
The tiny beetles that burrow under the bark of pine trees have killed more than 3.5 million acres of trees in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming.
