Medfly Quarantine Area Is Expanded

The Medfly quarantine area in the San Fernando Valley has been expanded to 93 square miles, state agricultural officials announced Monday.

A restricted area of Granada Hills will now include all of Pacoima and parts of Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills and Sun Valley, said Cato Fiksdal, chief deputy for Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner and Weights and Measures Department.

Medflies were captured outside the quarantine area last week, he said. Residents in the quarantine areas were asked not to give homegrown fruits or vegetables to friends or neighbors until the foods have been cooked, frozen, canned, pureed or baked, said Carl DeWing a spokesman for the state Cooperative Medfly Project.

The quarantine boundaries in Los Angeles County are the Foothill Freeway on the north, Sunland Boulevard and Vineland Avenue on the east, Vanowen Street on the south and Tampa and Winnetka avenues and Sesnon Boulevard on the west.