WHITLEY CITY, Ky. — One year after forest fires swept through the southern Appalachians, thousands of dead pine trees pose a new fire threat across Kentucky and other southern states.

        Federal and local authorities are urging residents to protect their homes by removing nearby dead trees and branches.

        “If you have a lot of fuel on the ground, then you have the potential for large catastrophic fires,” said Samuel Larry, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service in Atlanta.

        Around Whitley City in south eastern Kentucky, about 85 percent of the evergreens are dead. Forests are littered with brittle trees, branches and needles — perfect fuel for wildfires.

        An infestation of tiny beetles chewed into the trunks of the trees over the past three years, leaving a lifeless swath of pines across the region.

        Forests around Whitley City were among the hardest hit in fires that burned some 120,000 acres over a two-week period last fall. Two homes were destroyed in McCreary County, and flames threatened scores of others.

        “Psychologically, it's put everybody in a panic,” said Bruce Murphy, deputy judge-executive in McCreary County. “Everywhere you looked, you saw smoke. Everybody's house was full of smoke.”

        Betty Higgins, a ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, said she hopes the region avoids a repeat of last year's fires, which were at their worst during the last week of October and the first week of November.

        “The fuel is still there,” Ms. Higgins said. “I won't lie to you; it could happen again.”

        Kentucky is the highest risk, but Mr. Larry said other states could see a bad fire season, too.

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