Three cases of Dutch elm disease confirmed in Regina

Cases of Dutch elm disease have been discovered again in Regina.

The City of Regina said Wednesday there are three confirmed cases of the disease, and those trees were to be removed during the day. The results of tests on three other trees are pending.

During a media conference on Second Avenue on Wednesday morning, city crews were in the middle of taking down the 139th tree lost since the disease was first detected in Regina in 1981.

One worker was sent up a bucket truck to trim branches that crashed down onto a front lawn. Those branches were then shoved into a woodchipper. Later, the stump was to be removed.

Russell Eirich, the city’s manager of open spaces, said infected trees are removed promptly to prevent the spread. He said Regina loses about 10 trees each year.

(Joseph Ho/980 CJME)

“And that’s a pretty good program in our view. A good Dutch elm disease program will lose approximately one per cent of its trees per year,” Eirich said. “Considering that Regina has about 45,000 elms, losing 10 trees a year is a pretty good result.”

Each elm tree can be worth up to $50,000 so when a tree is lost, it’s a big loss to the urban forest, he said.

He estimated the cost of tree removal to be about $250 per hour.

In an effort to limit the spread of the disease, people are asked to not transport firewood from other locales into and out of the city. As well, elm trees should only be pruned from September to March to avoid attracting the elm bark beetles that cause the disease.

The first sign of Dutch elm disease is wilting leaves, which is caused by blocked water-carrying tubes. Leaves could turn yellow if a tree is infected in the spring or early summer, or they could turn brown and not fall off if a tree is infected later in the year.

Ontario is an example of how devastating the disease can be. Eirich said Eastern Canada was once home to many elm trees in the early 20th century.

“Some of the municipalities in Ontario, you will see old pictures where there (were lots of elms),” he said. “Within 10 years, there was nothing … One of the things with Dutch elm disease is it can take a tree out in a matter of weeks.”