Nearly a year after state agricultural officers lifted an Oriental fruit fly quarantine in eastern Riverside and San Bernardino counties, efforts to limit the spread of the pest have returned, this time in the west.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture declared a 131-square-mile area of Riverside and San Bernardino counties under quarantine on Thursday, Sept. 25, following the detection of the invasive pest, according to a news release from the department.
Detections in and around the cities of Ontario and Jurupa Valley have resulted in a quarantine zone that covers 57 square miles in Riverside County and 74 square miles in San Bernardino County. The quarantine was enacted Sept. 19.
The Oriental fruit fly can take over and inhabit more than 230 kinds of crops, according