Pine beetle wood is lodgepole pine that has been salvaged from areas in B.C. affected by the mountian pine beetle. It has the same structural performance capabilities as other species listed in this section, and has been used in high-profile projects like the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Normally, cold temperatures, forest fires and natural predators keep the mountain pine beetle in check. However, an abundance of mature lodgepole pine, combined with recent mild winters and uncharacteristically hot, dry summers, have led to an unprecedented epidemic.

Mountain pine beetles lay eggs under the trees’ bark, which introduce a bluestain fungus into the sapwood that prevents the tree from using its pitch to repel and kill the attacking beetles. Usually within a year of attack, the needles will have turned red, which means the tree is dying or dead and the beetles have moved to another tree.