Sugar pine is primarily an early-seral to seral species. It is rarely found in pure stands. When sugar pine is found to be the dominant species in old-growth stands, it most often was dominant to begin with or released by natural causes. White fir would usually be the climax species in mixed conifer forest in the absence of any natural disturbances. It has adapted a thick, fire-resistant bark and open canopy that retards aerial fire spread.
Mature trees can survive most fires, suffering only bole scorch.
Sugar pine reaction to a low-severity fire is by seeding on the exposed mineral soil, thus enhancing germination. U.S. Department of Agriculture, ForestService, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Historical and ecological perspectives on fire activity in the Klamath Geological Province of the Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests. Terrestrial vegetation of California. Bedard, William D. 1966.