Sounds like fire blight. Google "disease pyracantha". Plant
something resistant. daveA


Thanks for the reply. After additional research, fire blight is my guess
also, although I don't see the (supposedly) characteristic curling of the
leaf shoots that I saw in one picture on the web. Not ready to give up on
these plants, though. There are still several healthy major branches.
Gonna prune deadwood, with sterile rinse between cuts, and use that
Messenger product in the spring.

I'd been googling on "dying pyracantha". Your string is much more
productive. Thx again, Ron