The only way to live with the Mountain Pine Beetle is to accept that it is part of the Lodgepole, (Jack - Black Pine), world.
Jack Pine were meant to live fast and die.
In some places, like the higher elevations of Colorado, they can be a 250+ year tree commonly.
Elsewhere, it is often a 90- 120 year cycle, then the beetle comes in again.
To break this cycle:
1) Log it at 80 - 100 years. Look, they're about to croak anyway,
2) If possible in your ecosystem, plant another species that is resistant to the MPB.
Jack Pine succeed by:
1) Being a hardy tree with regard to cold, (it often gets established in thickets and this allows other species to come in under its canopy because of some thermal cover),
2) Tolerating lots of moisture around its roots, (hence its ability to kill meadows for its own needs),
3) Reproduce like a newly formed religion after disturbances, (fire - logging -wars etc).
It has its place. BUT. If you can, cut it back and diversify. Try for a timber stand with 5 different species and not all of those a pine.
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These die offs can take several years to complete.
Think positive, firewood for years.
Lodgepole does not remotely compare to virtually all hardwoods and many other softwoods as a firewood for heat production. But it does work as a Wal-Mart species.
BULK discount.
You can cut a couple cords and load it and deliver in a half day. If allowed to dry it splits easily, (avoid bigger butts and knotty stuff).
Lodgepole possibly splits easier, (when dry - and dead standing trees do dry out well after 1 year standing), than any other wood.
Doesn't produce much ash.
The fire risk the trees dying actually doesn't increase much just after they die.
However, about 5-10 years down the road, as butt rots help topple these trees and that slash is at the ground level and combines with the next generation of LP coming in. That is the perfect storm of fire risk with regard to fuels.
Virtually all of the big fire events you've read about in timber have been followed by a second big fire event when this dead and down combines with new growth between 5 - 25 years later.
Think of most of these as being three events to a cycle.
1) Insect or disease comes in, then those tress drop,
2) First big fire,
3) Second big fire.
If we forget history we do it all again.
Well administered logging, that cleans up the slash too, can intervene and stop these cycles. It's just a good common sense tool.
If you notice some lazy logging efforts nearby, where the limbs and tops are being left scattered. Be very concerned. Those loggers are actually increasing the fire risk under the cover of .................
By all means, take care of any fuel problems caused by dying LP near anything you value. Then again, if you only plan on living four years. No sweat.
