The hot, dry summers Clark County and much of the Pacific Northwest have experienced in recent years are harming some native tree species. Forestry experts and environmental groups say western hemlock, western red cedar and bigleaf maple are dying off due to the changing climate.

Tree loss became especially noticeable after the 2021 heat dome that pushed temperatures to a record-setting 115 degrees in Vancouver.

“Western red cedars are struggling. The signs that they’re struggling are typically top-down deaths from either the heat dome, which burned out a lot of them, or just general warmer, drier climate,” said Ryan Savaikie, lead forester for Clark Conservation District.

Adela Miller, neighborhood tree specialist for Friends of Trees, said the nonprofit has also seen the impact to tre

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