The past four years of drought in California not only have led to extreme fire conditions, but contributed to the death of millions of trees and exacerbated the devastating impacts of the bark beetle.
Concerns about the bark beetle have heightened so much that late last month Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency and sought federal action to help bring California additional resources in dealing with the beetle infestation.
“California is facing the worst epidemic of tree mortality in its modern history,” said Gov. Brown in a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “A crisis of this magnitude demands action on all fronts.”
One of the results of the governor's call to action is that the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire are convening a Task Force on Tree Mortality comprised of state and federal agencies, local governments and utilities that will coordinate emergency protective actions and monitor ongoing conditions.
Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant explains in the video above that more than 22 million trees have died due to the drought and pests like the bark beetles, and the number of dead trees is expected to rise over the next several years before the epidemic slows down.
Much of the tree die-off has been concentrated in the Sierra over the past few years, Berlant said.
In fact, tree mortality issues have increased as the drought has continued, according to Berlant's report.
Bark beetles are a native pest that do have positive impacts in taking down weak trees, Berlant said. However, in drought conditions, with more weaker trees, the result is mass tree mortality.
Those dead and dying trees then become a fire hazard, he said.
The small beetle attacks the tree, and when trees are healthy and have plenty of water inside, they can fight off the beetle as it attempts to burrow into the bark, Berlant explained. However, drought conditions weaken trees, and in short order the beetles can start to kill the trees.
Once a tree starts to change color – from a healthy green to brown – and the beetles' trails into the bark are visible, not much can be done to save the tree, Berlant said.
Three key steps for homeowners to take to save trees including removing dead trees from around homes and infrastructure, thin and prune healthy vegetation, and water high value trees.
Information on tree health, signs of bark beetle infestation, how to prevent infestation and removal of dead trees is available at Cal Fire's Web site, www.prepareforbarkbeetle.com .
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Cal Fire offers advice in addressing bark beetle infestation
- Elizabeth Larson
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