Not all bur oaks get bur oak blight. Symptoms of bur oak blight are first seen in mid-summer, but the most obvious symptoms are not apparent until late summer. On individual leaves, the disease initially kills segments of leaf veins, but later kills wedge-shaped segments between leaf veins. Bur oak blight starts in the lower canopy and moves upwards, often causing rapid leaf loss. In severe cases, all but the outermost leaves around the canopy will be killed. Bur oak blight might cause minor dieback, but it will not kill major limbs. Other problems such as Armillaria root disease, twolined chestnut borer, and oak wilt kill major limbs.
Wedge-shaped leaf death (tip of leaf) and leaf vein browning (bottom right of leaf) are telltale symptoms of bur oak blight.
Bur oak blight can have a severe impact on individual bur oaks (oak on the right), but not all bur oaks are affected by it (oak on the left).