Douglas County Looking for Apples Brought by Governor to Bridgeport

Douglas County is asking for the public’s help in tracking down apples brought to the Bridgeport area by Gov. Jay Inslee when he visited Saturday, Sept. 12.

Chelan-Douglas Horticultural Pest and Disease Board Director Will Carpenter says Thurston County is an apple maggot quarantine area and the fruit given to area residents, in Bridgeport and to nursing home residents in Omak, by the Governor contained larvae.

“We’ve been trying to track down these apples in Bridgeport since Monday. Haven’t found them. Finally got some apples from the nursing home and the fact that they have an apple maggot in them; it’s full alarms on. Let’s get anybody who possibly knows where these apples are or has received them, let’s get them back into my hands so they I can inspect them and destroy them properly.”

They were left at the Foursquare Church shortly after 11 a.m.

Carpenter says bringing apple maggots into the area could have dire consequences for the orchardists.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people in Bridgeport, a lot of people that were present during the visit and saw the little crate of apples that [Inslee] brought. I’ve reached out to the Governor’s office to try and find out how many apples we’re even talking about made it to Bridgeport.”

The Governor's Office provided a statement from Inslee that said, "Last week Trudi and I wanted to express comfort for the communities suffering from devastating fires. When I visited some of these areas, I took some apples we picked from our tree in Olympia. We regret this mistake. This a good reminder of the importance of awareness around apple quarantine.

We appreciate the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s efforts to help recover these apples and we are assisting to help make that happen.”

Anyone who has any information is asked to contact Carpenter at 509-667-6677 or at will.carpenter@co.chelan.wa.us.