Last April (2015) I was contacted by a home owner in Ross, CA (Marin County) regarding a very sick coast live oak tree (above) growing near his home. I promptly inspected the oak and found it was badly infected with a stem canker disease (probably Sudden Oak Death) and told him that I was not optimistic it could be helped. During my inspection I found few other oaks with SOD-like cankers. He asked that I try the fire mimicry techniques to see if they would help his sick oaks.
I visited the oaks last week to inspect and photograph their response. The photos show that the very sick oak has surprisingly responded with a nice flush of leaves in just one year. Several of the other sick oaks have also shown a good response (see below). The sick oak still has a severe stem canker infection and may not survive in the long run, but this is further evidence that we can improve the health and extend the lives of diseased oaks.
Sudden Oak Life 
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