The tree was dead. Ron Durbin, who trekked with a group into a rugged Santa Clarita canyon, quickly spotted nearby trees pockmarked with D-shaped “exit holes,” a deadly calling card. This was the work of the goldspotted oak borer, explained Durbin, forestry division chief for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
And the discovery earlier this year alarmed those who know what this tiny beetle is capable of. The insects’ presence in East Canyon, along with nearby Rice and Whitney canyons, puts them just 14 miles from the oak-rich Santa Monica Mountains. They were also recently detected in a new area of Silverado Canyon in eastern Orange County.
Durbin described the goldspotted oak borer as “just like a cancer.” It has spread across Southern California since its discovery in 2008 in San Diego County, where it has slaughtered more than 80,000 trees . “It’s metastasized,” he said.
“It’s stage four.” A coalition of fire officials, land managers, local representatives and pest experts across Southern California are racing to slow the death march — acknowledging that eradication isn’t possible. Much is at stake.
There are roughly 600,000 coast live oaks in the Santa Monica Mountains. Their demise would spell the loss of shade, wildlife habitat and beauty — and pose significant fire hazards. On May 7, the L.
A. County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to explore declaring a state of emergency and finding funding for additional county Fire Department st.
