The Town of Okotoks is recommending residents keep an eye on trees for fire blight.

Fire blight is classified as a pest under the Alberta Pest Act and is common throughout the prairie region.

The disease begins to show up around this time of year which has prompted the Town to remind residents of its effects.

Gordon White, Urban Forester with the Town of Okotoks, says it's a bacterial disease and can be fatal to trees.

"It attacks the new growth...it works it's way into the main branches and if left unattended it can potentially kill the tree."

White says fire blight has certain symptoms people should look out for.

"Generally it starts out in the tips of the branches and leaves will look shriveled up and turn into sort of a Shepard's Crook and look somewhat scorched, which is how it gets its name," he says. "The new infections generally start showing up this time of year."

Cankers can also form along the branches and create sunken areas on bark which can be discoloured with exfoliating bark. The cankers can present a yellow or brown ooze.

Fire blight most commonly attacks Mountain Ash, Hawthorn, apple, crab apple and pear trees, and Cottoneaster hedges.

To avoid fire blight, White says people should avoid planting susceptible species and trim out any dead or affected branches.