--- title: Fire Blight on Pear, Apple and Crabapple Trees url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/fire-blight/ business: Battle Born Tree Service address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701 phone: 775.232.8243 hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood) --- - [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/) - [Tree guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/) - Fire blight # Fire blight Fire blight is a bacterial disease of apples, pears, crabapples and related trees that blackens blossoms and shoot tips and curls them into a hook, leaving the dead leaves hanging as if scorched. Infected shoots can be cut out, but a tree with cankers in the trunk or main limbs may have to be removed. - **What it is:** A bacterial disease, Erwinia amylovora - **Trees affected:** Pear, apple, crabapple, quince, firethorn, hawthorn, cotoneaster, mountain ash - **Where in our area:** Fruit trees and ornamentals on lots at any elevation, about 4,000 to 6,500 feet - **Key sign:** Blackened blossoms and shoots, hooked shoot tips, leaves stuck on the twig - **Spread:** Insects, rain, wind, contaminated pruning tools Fire blight is a disease of the rose family. Utah State University lists apple and pear as the main hosts and notes that crabapple, hawthorn, cotoneaster and pyracantha can be infected too. This page covers what to look for, which trees, what an arborist checks and when pruning or removal is the answer. ## What does fire blight look like? Blossoms, young shoots and fruit wilt and blacken, and the University of California describes pear flowers turning black and apple flowers turning brown. The shoot tip curls over into a shepherd's crook. Dead leaves and fruit cling to the branch and give a scorched look, and amber droplets of ooze can form on cankers. Under the bark of an infected limb, University of California notes pink to orange-red streaks, and cankers become sunken and cracked. - Blackened, hooked shoot tips - Dead leaves clinging to twigs - Amber ooze on cankers - Sunken, cracked cankers on limbs ## Which trees and which elevations? Utah State University says apple and pear are the most economically important hosts and lists crabapple, hawthorn, cotoneaster and pyracantha. The University of California adds quince as extremely susceptible and serviceberry and mountain ash as less commonly affected. In our area that means [apple and fruit trees](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/apple-and-fruit-trees/), [flowering crabapple](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/flowering-crabapple/) and [Callery pear](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/callery-flowering-pear/). These are planted trees at any elevation. Valley lots at about 4,500 to 4,700 feet and Tahoe lots at 6,200 feet and up are both inside the range of hosts. Pears and apples are most susceptible at flowering, according to Utah State, so the trouble shows after bloom. ## How does it spread, and why does it come back? Utah State says insects, contaminated pruning or grafting tools, wind and rain splash all carry the bacteria, and sprinklers that wet foliage act like rain. The University of California notes that an infected plant carries the pathogen indefinitely. That is why one visit does not always end the blight. Pruning heavily in early summer is discouraged because it stimulates soft, susceptible growth. See [our fruit tree pruning guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/pruning-fruit-trees-reno-carson-city/). ## What does an arborist check? The arborist looks at how many shoots are blighted, whether cankers have formed on limbs and trunk and whether the bark under a limb shows reddish streaks. They check how far the disease has moved from the tip, and whether any single limb is girdled. - Number of infected shoots and limbs - Cankers on limbs or trunk - Girdled limbs - Overall structure of the tree - Other trees of the same family nearby ## When is pruning or removal the answer? University of California says to prune in summer or winter when the bacteria are not actively spreading, with fast-advancing infections on very susceptible pear and some apples cut out as soon as they appear in spring. Utah State recommends cutting at least 8 to 12 inches below the visible infection and cleaning tools between cuts when working on active summer blight. Dormant-season cuts do not require that sterilizing, it adds. Neither source gives a threshold for removing the whole tree. We remove when the trunk or main limbs carry cankers, when most of the crown is blighted, or when the tree is too far gone to hold its shape. University of California notes that a girdled limb must come off entirely. ## What does Battle Born Tree Service do about fire blight? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) or use the estimate form on this page. An ISA Certified Arborist looks at the tree on site, explains what is wrong and tells you whether the job is pruning out infected wood or removal. Credential WE-11728A is held by one of our two certified arborists. We identify the problem, prune out dead or hazardous wood and remove trees that cannot be saved; we do not spray, inject, fertilize or apply products. ### Sources - [Utah State University Extension: Fire Blight](https://extension.usu.edu/pests/ipm/notes_ag/fruit-fire-blight) (read October 17, 2026) - [University of California Statewide IPM Program: Fire Blight (Pest Notes 7414)](https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7414.html) (read October 17, 2026) ### Talk to the office [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) | Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | |---|---| | Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered | Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service. [Free estimate](#quote) ### Keep reading - [Callery (flowering) pear](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/callery-flowering-pear/) - [Flowering crabapple](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/flowering-crabapple/) - [Apple and other fruit trees](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/apple-and-fruit-trees/) - [Pruning fruit trees in Reno and Carson City](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/pruning-fruit-trees-reno-carson-city/) - [Cytospora canker](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/cytospora-canker/) - [Tree trimming and pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/tree-trimming-pruning/) ### Terms on this page [Arborist](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/arborist/) [The full glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/) ## Questions people ask Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### Is fire blight caused by fire? No. The scorched look comes from a bacterial infection that blackens leaves and shoots. ### Can a pear with fire blight recover? A tree with a few infected shoots can be pruned and watched. Trunk cankers are a different matter, and the arborist decides. ### Does fire blight spread to my other fruit trees? It can spread among apple, pear, crabapple and related plants through insects, rain and tools.