Fruit trees to become fruitless in this California city

RELATED COVERAGE: Fruit fly forces quarantine in LA County

The Stevenson Ranch area of Los Angeles County because an invasive fruit fly, the Tau fruit fly, has been found in the area. Residents living in the quarantine area are urged not to move any fruits or vegetables from their property.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. - One Southern California city is getting rid of all fruit from its fruit trees to keep the Oriental fruit fly at bay.

The large-scale fruit removal will affect more than 2,000 homes in the Redlands area of San Bernardino County beginning in late January, according to the California Deparment of Food and Agriculture.

Fruit removal will be happening in the following areas:

North and south of the 10 Freeway, with a northern boundary of E. Highland Ave.
A Western boundary at the intersection of Garden and Elizabeth streets
An eastern boundary of Alta Vista Dr.
A southern boundary of Silver Leaf Ct.

Fruit removal is expected to continue until late February. Residents in the affected areas will get a 48-hour notice prior to fruit removal, with crews arriving after the stated time interval has passed.

"This approach will allow CDFA and its partners at the USDA and local agricultural commissioners’ office to break the lifecycle of the invasive fly, which lays eggs in fruit that develop into larvae (maggots), posing a threat to both residential and commercial citrus as well as a total of more than 230 crops, including nuts, vegetables and berries," officials said in a statement. "If left unchecked, the Oriental fruit fly could become permanently established and cause billions of dollars worth of losses annually, which would significantly impact California’s food supply."

Affected residents are asked not to remove fruit from trees themselves and to refrain from moving produce from their property. Residents who are disposing of fruit are being asked to double-bag it and place it in the regular trash, not green waste bins.