Trees in the Angeles National Forest and the San Bernardino National Forest within San Bernardino County are still at risk from the goldspotted oak borer.
The insect, known scientifically as agrilus auroguttatus, is an invasive beetle native to southeastern Arizona that can kill oaks native to California.
The goldspotted oak borer produces D-shaped exit holes on infested trees.
The first discovery of goldspotted oak borer in San Bernardino County was in the Oak Glen area in the fall of 2018. In October 2018, it was detected in recently-killed California black oak trees, quercus kelloggii, in the unincorporated San Bernardino County community of Wrightwood, very close to the border with Los Angeles County. There was a subsequent infestation found in the Sugarloaf area of Big Bear in the summer of 2019, followed by one in the nearby environs of Moonridge. It is believed that the spread of the goldspotted oak borer to this area resulted from borer-infested oak firewood being brought into the forest.
Officials are urging the public to take critical precautions to avoid transporting infested oak firewood to other uninfested areas.