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--> --> Warning goes out on oak tree fungus Ashland Daily Tidings Oregonians, especially those living in cities near the California border such as Ashland, should be wary of firewood coming from their neighbor to the south. California counties around the San Francisco Bay area are infected with sudden oak death fungus, which has spread to eight sites near Brookings on the Southern Oregon coast. In an effort to check the spread of the fungus, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has imposed a ban on the import of tan oak, black oak, coast live oak and other host plants from Alameda, Mendocino, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties in California and the affected area in Curry County, Oregon. Consumers should not buy firewood from infected areas, agriculture officials said. Potentially infected plant materials such as seedlings, logs, bark products and acorns, as well as rhododendron, Oregon myrtle, bigleaf maple, Pacific madrone, manzanita and evergreen huckleberry bushes should not be transported from infected to non-infected areas. The spread of sudden oak death in Oregon could lead to quarantines being placed on the state and the destruction of regional forests. Agriculture officials have been doing spot checks of firewood and are looking for origin statements. They also are working with California companies that supply firewood to many Oregon chain stores to make sure the wood comes from areas free of sudden oak death. For more information on firewood, call the agriculture department's plant division at (503) 986-4636. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing