Milwaukee County Parks crews fight deadly tree fungal disease in Whitnall Park after oak wilt spotted for first time
FRANKLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- For the first time, oak wilt is in the Milwaukee County Parks system.
It's a destructive fungus that can kill oaks sometimes within several weeks, spread through beetles or underground through roots.
"The tree basically can't move water within the tree anymore and it wilts and it dies, hence the oak wilt name," said Bill McNee, a forest health specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Now, oak wilt is in one section of Whitnall Park, where crews have spent days working to cut trees down to stop the spread.
"In the absence of treatment, it'll just keep slowly killing these valuable and important oak trees," McNee said. "You really don't want it spreading into your big valuable oak forest because then it gets into a situation where it's much harder to stop, much more expensive, and you're losing this expensive oak forest that you could've otherwise kept alive."
Although it's sad to see these dozens go, officials said these measures will protect hundreds in the future.
Signs include when leaves drop early in July or August.
"There will be a fairly distinctive pattern on that life where part of that leaf is normal green and part of that leaf is a brown to bronze color," McNee said.
While it's common in southeast Wisconsin, it's not in this area -- and experts said it's better to be safe than sorry.
For more information on oak wilt and what to do if you think you've spotted it, click here.