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CAUTION: PINE FIREWOOD MAY SPREAD TREE DISEASE

CAMBRIA, CALIFORNIA, May 2, 1996 -- California residents are being asked to take special precautions with pine firewood to help curb the spread of an incurable tree disease that is killing thousands of Monterey and Bishop pine trees in the State.

A statewide task force is concerned that vacationing campers may unintentionally spread pine pitch canker, a fungal disease recently introduced to California, by carrying diseased pine firewood to various locations around the state. "Our biggest fear," explained Don Owen, Chairman of the Pine Pitch Canker Task Force, "is that the disease could be transported to areas of the state that don't have pitch canker. Many native and ornamental pine trees are susceptible to the disease. And since there is no cure for pitch canker, limiting its spread is the key to prevention."

Pine firewood, branches, needles, and cones may all be a source of the disease. Infested pine trees have been found in Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Monterey, Mendocino, Orange, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma counties. Residents of these counties are asked not to transport pine firewood or other pine material to uninfested areas. To date, the disease has not been found in the Sierra Nevada and other heavily forested parts of the State. It does not affect humans, pets or other plants.

Owen says that the concern over the spread of pine pitch canker should not prevent citizens from enjoying camp fires, provided precautions are taken to minimize the spread of disease:

• If you are traveling from an infested area to camp elsewhere, do not transport pine firewood out of the infested area. Purchase firewood at your destination.
• If you are camping within an infested area, use up or leave behind any pine firewood you have with you. This should be done even if you brought the firewood with you from an uninfested area.
• If you are uncertain that you might be transporting diseased pine firewood, take another type of firewood with you when you go camping, such as oak or cedar.

Further information on pine pitch canker disease may be obtained by contacting your local Agricultural Commissioner's office, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection forester, or city forester.

Last edited November 04, 2001

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