PG&E Wants you to Call Them Before Doing Tree Work Near a Power Line
Press Release from Pacific Gas and Electric Company:
EUREKA, Calif.—It’s logging season along the North Coast, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reminds its customers to use extreme caution when pruning trees near high voltage power lines. There have been recent tree felling incidents in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties that resulted in power outages and damage to electrical equipment. Luckily, there were no injuries, but inappropriate and unsafe tree cutting by third parties is 100% avoidable.
“The safety of our customers, crews, and the communities we serve is our most important responsibility, so we want everyone to avoid injuries. Whether you’re a licensed logger, harvest plan owner, land owner or you just need to cut down a tree, if there’s a power line nearby we encourage you to call us at 1-800-743-5000,” said Carl Schoenhofer, Senior Manager for PG&E’s Humboldt and North Valley Divisions.
Pruning trees close to power lines can be dangerous. Unqualified tree workers put their lives in jeopardy without specialized training and the proper insulated tools required to work near high-voltage power lines.
PG&E offers the following safety tips for customers and third-party contractors:
- Assume all power lines are energized and extremely dangerous, including the service drop that runs from utility poles to buildings or homes. Death or injury can result from contact with lines, even with these lower voltage lines. This type of work should only be performed by properly qualified and trained tree workers.
- Never cut or remove trees that are within 10 feet of high-voltage power lines. It is unlawful to work within 10 feet of a distribution or transmission line and Cal/OSHA requires a minimum of 10 feet clearance between workers, equipment and high voltage power lines at all times.
- Avoid touching trees that are in contact with power lines. Injury, shock or death may result. Trees in contact with power lines are grounded to the earth making them an excellent pathway for electricity to travel.
- Never touch fallen power lines or approach them. The ground they touch may be energized. Stay away and call 911 and then report fallen or downed lines immediately to PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
PG&E works every day to prune trees growing near power lines to reduce fire hazards, ensure public safety and provide uninterrupted electrical service. If there is ever a question of trees that you believe are growing too close to power lines, please call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 for assistance.
If residents or businesses call 1-800-PGE-5000 before work begins, PG&E will ensure it is safe to fell a tree in that area or, in certain instances, the company may be able to cut it down for them.
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But it’s fine to hire tree trimmers themselves that cut trees and smash down people’s fences, spew the chipper into yards, fill drainage ditches with limbs and lengths of large limbs that they just leave laying there. Ok.
It’s funny you talk crap about tree trimmers that risk their lives trimming trees by the power lines to keep fires from happening. You guys complain until your power is out then all of a sudden we’re the hero’s. Double standards?
The trees were already clear of the power line so maybe you should know the situation before assuming you know wtf.
??Document.
PG&E just covering their rear ends again. They claim that they fall trees, limbs trees, etc., every single day. What a damn joke!
Every year PG&E crews come through and trim back branches and trees here. There was a period where they failed to do so but in the last 5 years or so, they have been very regular about it and power failures have correspondingly dropped. I’ve seen them spend days dropping difficult trees in pieces around power lines when someone wanted the whole tree gone.
have a open tree case number since thw middle of march for a tree that is touching the lines in several places however everytime they send out a tree servce to work on it they say it is to large leave and never return. the tree sparks at times when the wind blows and the the lights will dim. oh well guess since it is on record we can get whst 25 percent of the replacement cost 6 years after the place burns down . pge is a fucking joke and so is their concern. the company has been convicted as a felon yet they get bailed out by goverments and rate payers and still not one day served in jail. cowards overpaid brown nosers
??Document then make your case.
Try hanging from a 1/2″ rope 150′ off the deck while pulling an “overhang” over a 60 KV powerline with a running chainsaw in your hand, and tell me how Billy Badass you are…
you mean do the job you are trained and paid to do ?oh god what an over expectation us common folk must have. try flushing a sniper while moving to secure a lz for a medivac on 4 hours of sleep in the last 5 days running radio and calling in close air support. and tell me how hard that saw is to hold. fact is people are trained and paid to do a job either they can do it or they cant if you cant go find a differant line of work . to earn the gravy you gotta work the shit.
Antichrist… let me guess Grenada. Shits pathetic
I’m a certified tree climber/ worker I plan on removing one tree in the homeowners backyard on both sides of the tree. The house drip comes from a i distribution-pole behind the tree as the lines approach the tree to be removed, they split to each side of the tree going thru the tree each line goes through the tree both sides of the main leader. to the two homeowners weatherhead. My question is.
would PG&E drop those two powerlines until the work is complete Or I prune back all the limbs to the inside of the powerline closer to the main leader. With homeowners consent and approval ? Thank you.
Thank you
Tom