Bark Beetles: What Role Do They Play In Fire Ecology?

After reading into bark beetles I see why they can be a big factor on how detrimental fire is to an area. Bark beetles feed mostly on dead or dying trees but have been known to eat living trees as well. 

There are two main reasons that bark beetles can increase risk and severity of fire. For one bark beetle brake down timber leaving gabs that aerate the logs and make them dry more quickly. This leaves tinder that can catch much more easily allowing crown fires to destroy huge amounts of forest.

The second reason that they can lead to higher rates of fire is they can feed off of and kill living tree. This also increases tinder for fires to use as accelerant.

With climate change effecting forests everywhere and dry hot weather increasing the risk of fire, bark beetles give one more risk to forest in warmer climates. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=bark+beetle+damage&espv