Forest fires feed on decades-long accumulations of debris and leap from the tops of young trees into the branches of mature trees. Fires that jump from treetop to treetop can be devastating. In old-growth forests, however, the shade of mature trees keeps thickets of small trees from sprouting, and the lower branches of mature trees are too high to catch the flames. This paragraph best supports the statement that

• forest fire damage is reduced in old-growth forests.
• small trees should be cut down to prevent forest fires.
• mature trees should be thinned out to prevent forest fires
• forest fires do the most damage in old-growth forests.
• old-growth forests have a larger accumulation of forest debris.