The tiny beetle that foresters warned created dangerous fire conditions

Foresters had warned about these conditions.

Invasive southern pine beetle have destroyed thousands of acres of trees in Suffolk since they arrived 10 years ago, foresters told Newsday in January. That has heightened the wildfire risk by generating heavy fuel loads, which can drive bigger fires.

“Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of trees have been lost,” David Lys, an East Hampton town councilmember told Newsday’s Tracy Tullis. “It’s very devastating.”

Newsday reported that the beetles are a signal of climate change. Native to the southeastern United States, as winters warmed, they have spread north. They were first spotted on Long Island in 2014, in the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Gov. Kathy Hochul have blamed the beetle killing trees in the Pine Barrens for contributing to Saturday’s fire.