Abstract There is little quantitative information on relationships between insect attacks and fire damage for ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Lawson, in the southwestern United States. Tree mortality and insect attacks were measured on 1,367 trees for three years after a spring wildfire (4 May 1996), a summer wildfire (20 June 1996), and a fall prescribed fire (9 September 1995) in northern Arizona. Western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, mountain pine beetle, D. ponderosae Hopkins, roundheaded pine beetle, D. adjunctus Blandford, red turpentine beetle, D. valens LeConte, Ips species, and wood borers in the Buprestidae and Cerambycidae families were found in fire-damaged trees. The most frequently occurring insects, listed from most to least frequent, were wood borers, red turpentine beetle, Ips spp., western pine beetle, roundheaded pine beetle, and mountain pine beetle. Trees attacked by Dendroctonus and Ips spp. as a group had more crown damage from fire than unattacked trees. ...