However, pine crowns are burned far more frequently than the crowns of oaks because most fires occur when oaks are leafless. Most of the fire damage to oaks is through killing of the cambium near the base. When only part of the cambium is killed, the tree usually lives but an open wound develops. When all of the cambium is ki lled, the stem dies but sprouts may start from buds just underground. On pitch and shortleaf pines, fires usually damage the foliage and well-developed buds first.
More heat is needed to kill the basal cambium, particularly of. large trees.
Thus, these pines may have only their foliage killed they may also have their major buds and branches killed, yet live through forming new crown sprouts from dormant buds. If the part above ground dies but sprouts arise, they usually arise from protected dormant buds. A tree is completely killed if no sprouts develop. Tree Size Large trees have thick bark and crowns farther from the ground so they tend to suffer less damage than small trees. Less intense fires have killed back all oaks 1 to 4 inches in diameter, but only 12 percent of the oaks larger than 13 inches.