BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — With temperatures dropping, neighbors are using firewood to stay warm, but local experts are urging neighbors to help prevent the spread of tree diseases.
- Oak Wilt, Dutch Elm, and Emerald Ash are some common diseases that can kill trees.
- Oak Wilt is the most destructive disease in the United States, killing more than a million trees in 76 Texas Counties.
- For more information about tree disease prevention and treatment, click here.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"You never, you know, you buy it off somebody from the side of the road, you don't know what you're getting," Bryan resident, Victor Enmon said.
Tis' the season for bundling up, but neighbors are being urged to be cautious about something you may have never thought of— where you’re purchasing your firewood from.
But why the worry? — to prevent the spread of tree diseases.
"We have to be careful about moving firewood from county to county, from location to location and even from state to state, because sometimes without knowing it, we are actually moving insects or pathogen inside that firewood that we're transporting," Texas A&M Forest Service Health Coordinator, Demiam Gomez said.
"I truly believe that, you know, you can bring, you can bring anything in," Enmon said.
Common diseases like Oak Wilt, Dutch Elm, and Emerald Ash can be found in trees, and have the potential to wipe out an entire species, potentially altering ecosystems.
"We all love our trees, they're very important," Arborist, Thomas Burns said. "They provide a whole lot of benefits. The last thing we want to do is stress out our trees more than we need to."
Demian Gomez is the health coordinator for the Texas A&M Forest Service.
He tells15ABC the best way to prevent any diseases from entering the county is to buy locally.
"The best rule of thumb that I have is buy it where you burn it or burn it where you buy it," Gomez said.
Thomas Burns thinks protecting our trees is essential.
"Due to the lack of care, it's been harder to limit the spread of these diseases, and some trees mean more to other people than it does to everybody else. It's perspective and other people's perspective matters just as much as yours, and it's just important to take care of the trees that we have," Burns said.
