Getting Answers: Why Hasn’t PG&E Removed Marked Trees In Foresthill?

2 years ago 377

FORESTHILL (CBS13) — Residents successful parts of Foresthill assemblage of Placer County are inactive moving to wide driveways and determination debris portion they hold for the powerfulness to beryllium restored.

On Cedar View Court, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) trucks and different crews worked Wednesday to bring powerfulness lines backmost online. On the aforesaid street, trees marked oregon tied with agleam highlighter colors archer crews those are trees that should beryllium removed. But, the trees weren’t marked aft the latest storm, and instead, were marked for removal successful 2020.

The removal was portion of the 2020 Enhanced Vegetation Management Plan done PG&E. That information enactment narrows successful connected areas that are deemed a high-fire menace area. The program was created to code vegetation that whitethorn airs a higher imaginable for wildfire.

In a connection to CBS13, a PG&E spokesperson outlined immoderate of the enactment that falls nether that Enhanced Vegetation Management Plan. It includes standards that transcend what the authorities outlines for minimum clearances astir powerfulness lines, including pruning overhanging limbs and branches supra powerfulness lines; further inspections, beyond the regular patrols, to region dormant oregon diseased trees that are hazardous; histrion valuation connected conditions, particularly if the trees are wrong striking-range of powerfulness lines oregon equipment.

“In 2021, we met and exceeded our authorities vegetation information standards by performing enhanced vegetation enactment crossed much than 1,800 miles successful areas with highest wildfire hazard to negociate trees that posed a hazard to electrical organisation powerlines and equipment. In total, since its initiation successful 2019, we person completed enhanced vegetation enactment on much than 6,400 miles of powerlines successful precocious menace fire-districts.”

Back to those trees connected Cedar View Court: wherefore are they inactive lasting successful 2022? The answer, according to a PG&E spokesperson, falls nether the guidelines of the Enhanced Vegetation Management Plan.

Before the trees were removed, the “risk exemplary changed”, according to an email from PG&E to CBS13. Because of that change, the telephone to region the trees was reversed. The reasoning was that the trees were lone acceptable to beryllium removed arsenic portion of the absorption program, which meant the trees were targeted arsenic “above and beyond mean requirements.”

The neighborhood, and neighborhoods similar it successful high-fire hazard areas, are patrolled doubly a twelvemonth by PG&E, according to absorption plans. Neighbors told CBS13 that going much than a week without powerfulness has them questioning if that’s enough.

“It’s benignant of each of it. If it [didn’t have] the powerfulness lines and trees connected them, past it wouldn’t beryllium arsenic large of an issue,” said Julia Kerr, a homeowner who continues to wide her spot of fallen trees.

Kerr moved into the Foresthill location 2 weeks earlier the powerfulness outage. She said a histrion fell onto the extortion of her location during the tempest and she has not been capable to unrecorded determination since. In the meantime, she returns to the location mundane to region the trees and histrion limbs from the driveway.

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PG&E has a Safety Net Program to repay customers during outages that are longer than 48 hours, according to the company’s website. The programme pays $25 to $100 automatically 60 to 120 days aft the outage and the magnitude whitethorn beryllium connected the outage length.