Logs from cut trees don't simply go into the fireplace. The county wants the wood stacked outside and covered tightly with clear plastic for six months so the sun can generate enough heat and humidity to kill the beetles. Homeowners who spot bleeding might be able to save their trees. Early insecticide spraying appears to keep the beetles at bay. As for the true source of the killer, at this point scientists have little more than theories.
Evidence now seems to dispel the idea that the syndrome kills quickly.
Marin Fire Marshal Keith Parker says he's looking at a decade of elevated fire risk before dead trees fall and decay. And maybe longer if the oaks, which are more resistant to fire, are replaced by other trees that burn more readily. The last big fire in Marin, in 1995, burned 12,000 acres around Point Reyes and destroyed 48 homes. This is just another major problem in an already complex situation. The tree lovers and forest protectors who won battles for laws to protect live oaks now see a catastrophe looming on the coastal landscape.