Squirrel tests positive as carrier of plague bacteria

RIVERSIDE - A ground squirrel netted at a campground in the San Jacinto Mountains tested positive for bubonic plague bacteria, prompting Riverside County health officials today to warn campers to take precautions.

''We don't want to incite panic. We just want everybody to be educated,'' said county Department of Environmental Health spokeswoman Dottie Merki.

Merki said the squirrel was caught on Sept. 6 during routine trapping at the Fern Basin campground.

Rodents are trapped in the mountain location seasonally to ascertain whether they're carrying diseases, according to Merki.

She said it's t...