Ashes to ashes: North Carolina under statewide quarantine for tree beetle that killed million of ash trees

North Carolina under statewide quarantine for tree beetle

Markings left from emerald ash borer larvae on a tree (Mike Groll, File)

Updated 1 hr 48 mins ago

RALEIGH --

North Carolina has enacted a statewide quarantine because of a tree-killing beetle.

The state agriculture department said in a statement that Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler signed an emergency order Thursday expanding the quarantine for the emerald ash borer to include the entire state.

The quarantine means that ash trees cannot be moved into non-quarantined areas.

Troxler said he expanded the state's quarantine after the beetle was found across the state, including near the state lines with South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The department says firewood that has been treated, certified and labeled according to federal regulations can be moved outside the quarantine area.

The beetle was first found in Michigan in 2002. It's been blamed for the death or decline of tens of millions of ash trees across the nation.