Democracy Dies in Darkness

This disease has killed a million trees in California, and scientists say it’s basically unstoppable

May 2, 2016 at 4:53 p.m. EDT
A fungal pathogen is causing an epidemic of "sudden oak death" in California. Researchers studying the invasive disease say its continued spread is inevitable (Video: Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Healthy forests are especially important at a time of climate change — they’re an incredible tool to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Dead forests, on the other hand, can light the spark for wildfires, which are already showing a long-predicted uptick in activity.

In California’s coastal forests, health is anything but good. Since 1995, a pathogen that causes a phenomenon dubbed ‘sudden oak death’ (a far catchier name than that of the pathogen itself, Phytophthora ramorumhas taken out millions of oak and tanoak trees, particularly along the coast extending northward from Monterey County. That includes areas of Marin County, Sonoma County and Big Sur.