The timber up here right now is running about 8 percent.

NPR: Western Wildfires Reach into Montana

He is right: despite restrictions on felling trees and a ban on transporting timber, proof of illegal logging is easy to find.

ECONOMIST: Just chopping it down

He added that fire spread was a major concern at the incident, and that the Chief Fire Officers Association "was right to be increasingly concerned about the number and severity of fires in timber framed buildings under construction".

BBC: Firefighters tackle Basingstoke construction site fire