Hundreds of thousands of Washington state's trees are dead or dying

SEATTLE — Trees upon towering trees make up what Washingtonians know to be one of the most stunning landscapes in the nation.

In Shoreline, a towering fir tree was cut down.

While beautiful at one time, it's like millions of other trees in the state.

It's dead, unstable, and dangerous. This is a scene playing out across Washington as the state grapples with an unprecedented forest health crisis.

"A dead tree is a dangerous tree—that's just common sense," says Mike Stanton, owner of Seattle Tree Services, who understands the risks all too well.

The numbers are staggering.

Of Washington's 22 million forested acres, the Department of Natural Resources manages about 3 million acres of state land. Of those, 545,000 acres are now dead or dying — the equivalent of more than 500,000 football