Trouble is brewing in Oregon's southwest coastal forests in the form of a deadly microbial pest that, if it takes hold, could devastate woodlands throughout the state. Oregon considers the threat so serious that if a single dead tanoak turns up infected, rapid response teams are ordered to slash and burn everything for hundreds of yards around it. Crews even have the authority to act on private land and nurseries if the disease is found. So far, the counterattack has contained SOD in the wild to a 22-square-mile area near Brookings. In the words of one ecologist, "this is the northwest's equivalent to the Irish potato famine or the East Coast chestnut blight." If Sudden Oak Death goes unchecked, it could mean the end of the tanoak species and cause significant damage to Oregon's forest ecosystems.