Fruit Fly Outbreak Brings Quarantine

Six Orange County cities have been placed under quarantine to combat an outbreak of Oriental fruit fly infestations, but the action will have little economic impact on farmers, an agriculture official said Wednesday.

“There’s hardly anything left to be harvested,” Deputy Agriculture Commissioner William Amling said. “They were through with tomatoes last week.”

The quarantine, which prohibits removal of fruit and vegetables from the area, covers 90 square miles in Orange and Los Angeles counties and was ordered after 51 of the flies were discovered in Long Beach on Sept. 9.

Communities covered by the quarantine include Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, La Palma, Cypress, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Bellflower, Hawaiian Gardens and Cerritos.