Santa Clarita Neighborhood Under Invasive Fruit Fly Quarantine

A Santa Clarita neighborhood is under a fruit fly quarantine.

Twenty Tau fruit flies have been detected in the Stevenson Ranch area, according to California Department of Food and Agriculture officials.

And they're asking residents not to move any fruits and vegetables from their fruit trees or homes, and to double-bag any produce they wish to throw away.

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The quarantine area stretches 79 square miles, between Castaic Junction to the north and Oat Mountain to the south; and Del Valle to Honby Ave from west to east.

The highly invasive species hail from Southeast Asia, and is a serious threat to California cash crops like avocado, tomatoes, and peppers — in particular, cucurbits.

Officials think travelers likely brought the fly with uninspected produce across state lines.
 
Tau flies were first detected in San Bernardino County in 2016, and had re-emerged and been eradicated three times since.

The Stevenson Ranch quarantine is the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.