With the discovery of an invasive beetle infestation Hillsborough became the latest New Hampshire county under a firewood quarantine. The quarantine expansion went into effect last week, after Emerald Ash Borer was discovered in the town of Weare, which makes three counties now in lockdown. This means that firewood can no longer be taken from Hillsborough County and brought elsewhere.
The beetle was first detected in the state in Concord in the spring of 2013, and has since been found in Canterbury, Bow, Loudon, Hopkinton and Salem. Merrimack and Rockingham counties are also under the quarantine.
Generally infested trees are discovered only after a few years, once the insects have multiplied to be point that the trees health is compromised. This makes the spread of the insect especially difficult to stop. In some parts of the Midwest, the Asian beetle has wiped out 99 percent of ash trees in slightly more than a decade of infestation.
