The big, beautiful live oaks in town and throughout the Hill Country aren’t indefensible. Considered an epidemic throughout central Texas, oak wilt is one of the most destructive tree diseases in the U.S. The infectious disease spreads in the spring, killing all trees that share its name, with red oaks and live oaks most susceptible. “A live oak is a great survivor against everything that gets thrown at it from wind damage to drought to insects and other diseases, but it’s a poor su ...