An increase in global temperatures from climate change has driven an increase in drought in areas where frequent, low- and moderate-intensity fires are common. Human caused climate change, also known as anthropogenic climate change (ACC), has caused an increase in temperatures globally and has been linked as the leading driver of changes in regional temperatures and fire regimes, leading to a shift in important ecosystem functions and human ecosystems. Our ability to properly predict and anticipate when and where trees are most likely to suffer mortality by fire and drought is crucial for tackling problems in research, such as modeling future fire regimes and patterns, carbon emissions, and the impacts these fires can have on wildlife and human communities. We conducted pre- and post-burn drought experiments with 18 combinations of drought and fire treatments on Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia saplings to understand the responses and drivers of mortality in conifer saplings. We found that drought in combination with fire increased the likelihood of mortality in P. contorta saplings, and that the order and combination of drought and fire treatment had differential effects that varied among physiological responses we assessed. Overall, we discovered a dynamic interaction between drought and fire that varied with the timing and combination of these disturbances and different among variables we assessed. Metrics that have proved effective to predict death from fire alone in previous research were not always robust in our study when fire was combined with drought.