National team to help Forest Service manage bark beetle epidemic in Colo., Wyo.

National team to help manage bark beetle problem

DENVER — A national team will help the U.S. Forest Service manage the attack against the beetle infestation that has swept through about 2.5 million acres of forests in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.

Rocky Mountain Regional Forester Rick Cables says the team will help coordinate efforts to address the safety concerns and wildfire threat posed by large swaths of beetle-killed trees.

The National Incident Management Organization will coordinate activities in the region’s heaviest-hit forests: the Medicine Bow-Routt, Arapahoe and Roosevelt and White River.

Some campgrounds have been temporarily closed because of falling trees. The Forest Service is concerned about trees toppling power lines and stands of dead trees fueling wildfires.