Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, MPB), a bark beetle native to the western U.S., has caused vast areas of tree mortality across western North America over the last several decades. The majority of this mortality has been in lodgepole pine forests (Pinus contorta) and has raised concerns over the potential for extreme fire behavior across large landscapes as forest structure and fuels are altered following these MPB epidemics. Previous research has provided equivocal evidence concerning the influence of MPB on temporal and spatial effects to canopy and surface fuels and how these changes may consequently affect fire behavior. Recent research and synthesis efforts have begun to shed some light on the issues raised by managers, scientists, and the public in the wake of these epidemics. This study adds to the burgeoning body of research investigating the impacts of MPB epidemics; specifically, this project assessed changes in forest structure, surface fuels, and potential fire behavior following mountain pine beetle epidemics in south-central Oregon, where little work has been completed previously and potentially important ecological differences exist as compared to other lodgepole pine systems (e.g. Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine systems). It is important to consider the forest attributes, successional trends, and behavior of MPB when evaluating how fuels change over time following MPB mortality. Forests in the mature lodgepole pine type of the Deschutes and Fremont-Winema National Forests in south-central Oregon are generally low productivity, often single-species, uneven-aged stands,with a mixed severity fire regime. It has beeninformally noted by area entomologists that MPB activity tends to increase in those stands with a minimumof 100 trees per acre that are greater than 9 inches in diameter; MPB activity may last from a couple of years to a decade. They generally kill the largest trees, leaving primarily intermediate and suppressed trees that may additionally be infected with dwarf mistletoe. This study assessed changes in forest structure, surface fuels, and potential fire behavior following mountain pine beetle epidemics in south-central Oregon.