MILL CREEK, Wash. — The Mill Creek Community Association is knocking down all trees within a fifty-foot radius of any tree infected with laminated root rot.
Many are sky-high Douglas Firs that have been there for decades. It’s estimated 50 trees in total will need to come down.
Association Director, Hilary Bublitz backs the decision.
“It’s a very upsetting thing that’s happening,” said Bublitz. “What we cannot do is ignore it and hope it goes away.”
She said, if these trees aren’t taken care of, homeowners will be at risk. Trees infected with the pathogen become hollowed, their roots are weakened, and are, therefore, more prone to falling over.
According to Bublitz, laminated root rot was first detected following the big windstorm of this past fall.
An arborist was hired by the neighborhood group to take a core sample from a tree that had toppled. They sent that sample to Oregon State University and scientists confirmed it had indeed contracted the pathogen.