2020 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

City of Irvine

The ACP has also been an ongoing risk to citrus trees in Southern California, where more than 500 cases have been reported as of 2018. As of 2019, the California Department of Food and Agriculture maintains a zone of quarantine throughout certain sections of Los Angeles and Orange counties for any citrus trees that are infected with Huanglongbing. This zone of quarantine includes parts of Irvine. 54 Although advisories are in place, there are no recorded instances of Huanglongbing in Irvine. The current hotspot for this disease is in Anaheim, and Garden Grove, with a combined 446 trees, confirmed positive for the disease. 55

Risk of Future Events

Agricultural Pests Future risks associated with agricultural pests are anticipated to occur; however, as agricultural uses are eliminated within the City, the impacts are anticipated to be further reduced. Epidemic/ Pandemic/ Vector-Borne Disease Irvine is almost certain to continue experiencing influenza infections in the future. The 2018-2019 flu season resulted in 6,050 reported cases, which resulted in 16 deaths. As this disease has no completely effective vaccine, it is impossible to eradicate the illness from recurring in the City. Other diseases, such as measles, can only be contained as far as the general population continues receiving inoculations against the disease. If residents, workers of, or visitors to Irvine were to stop receiving vaccinations against preventable diseases, it could cause a resurgence of such diseases within the City. Recent cultural trends in Southern California suggest that some members of the general public are not vaccinating their children, which corroborates this scenario. 56 While it is not possible to predict whether or not this trend of anti- vaccination will gain traction in Irvine, there are no current indications that significant numbers of people living, working, or visiting the City are not taking the necessary precautions against the threat of preventable disease, including vaccinations. Vector-borne diseases of concern, like the West Nile or Zika viruses, are not native to California and thus are not expected to gain significant traction in the future. As all cases of Zika Virus infection have occurred among those who have traveled to countries where the risk of infection is high, it can be expected that there will always be some degree of Zika Virus infection in Irvine as long as its residents, workers, and visitors travel to these countries. West Nile Virus infection rates tend to remain low, but there are periods when infection rates suddenly rise, usually as a result of larger populations of mosquitoes. If mosquito control measures are in place and effectively enforced, the infection rates in Irvine are expected to remain low. If large numbers of residents or businesses; however, do not follow proper procedures, it is likely that the number of West Nile Virus cases could rise. Tree Mortality Given that no known instances of Huanglongbing have been reported in Irvine, it is unlikely that a large outbreak would occur in the City. In Southern California, all cases of the disease have affected only citrus trees on private residences. It is anticipated that this same pattern would occur in Irvine, with citrus trees located on private residences being affected. Regarding invasive pests, the City is more concerned about ISHB, GSOB, and Palm Weevil. The City is currently undergoing a tree inventory that will identify infected trees. Based on the results of this inventory, the City will implement a management program to manage and mitigate impacts associated

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