Trees eventually die. It may take some 100 years or more, but as a forest reaches climax, downed wood can become so dense, that all it takes is one spark to set the whole place ablaze. Selective logging and thinning reduces fuel loads, while still retaining necessary downed wood needed for insects and rodents.

Historically, small, periodic fires acted as “vacuum cleaners” of the forest floor by removing duff and small debris, leaving litter, downed wood, and soil layers intact.