Malathion Spraying Resumes Over 4 Areas

With a mixture of anger, support and indifference, North County residents received their second dousing of malathion spray Tuesday night in a recurring battle against the Mediterranean fruit fly that is sure to be fought in their neighborhoods again in coming months.

Three specially equipped Bell helicopters left El Monte Airport just before 9 p.m. and began spraying hundreds of gallons of malathion mix over a 26-square-mile area of Brea, La Habra and Fullerton in Orange County and La Habra Heights in Los Angeles County.

Spraying was expected to end by 2 a.m. Most of the 11-square-mile Orange County area, with the exception of a small corner of La Habra, received its second spraying in as many weeks as state agriculture officials continued a so-far unsuccessful campaign to halt the Medfly’s spread.

“It’s going beautifully,” said Orange County Agricultural Commissioner James D. Harnett Tuesday night. “No wind, no problems.”

While some residents still question the health effects of malathion, others took the spraying in stride. Helen Humphrey of La Habra didn’t bother to cover her family’s motor home, despite warnings that the mixture of one-part malathion and three-parts insect bait could harm the finish of automobiles. She said she will just wash it off this morning.

Like Humphrey, most elected officials in North County seem supportive of the Medfly spraying, accepting it as a necessary inconvenience.

But Orange County Supervisor Roger R. Stanton on Tuesday reiterated his concerns about the health risks of spraying.

“A number of folks have asked questions that can be summarized (as) ‘if it eats the paint off your car, what does it do to you?’ ” Stanton said.

Stanton nonetheless joined the board in approving unanimously a state of emergency declared last month after the first Medfly was found just north of Orange County. The declaration, to be reconsidered every two weeks until the pest has been eradicated, amounts to a show of support for the state’s malathion policy.

In Tuesday’s spraying, a square-mile area of La Habra received its first dousing. And a 10-square-mile area of La Habra, Brea and Fullerton was hit for the second time in as many weeks.

Area residents flooded the county’s Medfly hot line with almost 400 calls by Tuesday night, most complaining that they didn’t know if they were in the spray area.