The City of Saskatoon says Dutch elm disease has been identified in two city neighbourhoods.

This week, the City of Saskatoon Parks Department has confirmed two positive cases of Dutch elm disease (DED) in elm trees in Sutherland and one positive case in Pleasant Hill.

The DED response plan has been initiated which means immediate removal of the positive trees and disposal at the City landfill, they’ll be looking in the surrounding area to see if there is stored elm wood, trees within one kilometre of the infected tree will be sampled as well.

Parks staff will check every property around impacted areas for elm firewood or brush and removing it when it is found. If residents are not home, staff will remove the elm wood and leave an Elm Infraction Notice with a note indicating that the wood was removed.

DED is caused by a fungus that clogs the elm tree’s water and nutrient conducting system, which eventually causes the tree to die. DED was introduced in North America in the 1930s and has since wiped out millions of elms across Canada and the United States. In Saskatoon, elms make up 25 per cent of the public urban forest.

In Saskatchewan, the disease is spread by several species of elm bark beetles. These beetles can fly farther than two kilometres in search of elm trees.