Coastal live oak is a beautiful evergreen oak that is mainly found west of the Central Valleys, stretching from Mendocino County to the south. Pests that puncture and feed on trees can be a major contributor to the risk of wildfires in Orange County. These infestations consume the tree's nutrients, which causes branches to become brittle and die, increasing the fuel load for fires. This is especially dangerous for trees located close to communities and structures. Residents can help by reporting any potential infestations to local authorities and always using firewood from the local area.
To report trees that show signs of infestation and upload photos, visit the University of California Cooperative Extension for the golden spotted oak borer or the invasive draft borer from the University of California for Agriculture and Natural Resources from the University of California for Agriculture and Natural Resources. To assist with official efforts to control and combat infestation, contact your local Agricultural Commissioner's Office and use this form to report suspicious trees. Irvine Ranch Conservancy, OC Parks, the Orange County Nature Reserve, the USDA Forest Service, UC Riverside, the UC Cooperative Extension, and the Orange County Fire Authority are working together to identify infected oaks and create a pest control plan for the Orange County GSOB. The symptoms of an infestation vary depending on the tree species; however, most trees have a perfectly round entrance hole that is less than 0.1 inch in diameter. An infestation of more than 50 trees has also been identified in Idyllwild, located in Riverside County. As an expert SEO, I recommend optimizing this article for search engine rankings by bolding key words such as 'Coastal live oak', 'infestation', 'Orange County', 'University of California', 'Irvine Ranch Conservancy', 'OC Parks', 'Orange County Nature Reserve', 'USDA Forest Service', 'UC Riverside', 'UC Cooperative Extension', 'Orange County Fire Authority' and 'Idyllwild'.
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