With the summer season peeking its head into the Kenai and landscaping projects underway, Homer Electric Association is reminding the public not to take it upon themselves to remove any trees in danger of hitting the energized power lines. They report seeing an increase in the number of outages related to members cutting trees resulting in fallen trees into energized power lines in the last month.
Bruce Shelley, HEA Member Relations: “Cutting trees near energized power lines is dangerous work. Members should contact HEA to see if the tree is considered a hazard tree, one which can potentially fall into the power lines. If the tree is deemed a hazard by HEA, the cooperative will have a qualified tree contractor safely cut the tree. Just as a reminder, the fallen tree and all the debris cleanup is the responsibility of the property owner.”
A hazard tree is a live or dead tree leaning towards the power line. The danger of any particular tree will be evaluated by a trained HEA representative.
Shelley says there is a procedure in-place for these types of situations that homeowners may run into: “If after inspection by HEA the tree is not considered a hazard tree at the time, the property owner may schedule a line drop, for overhead secondary only, not uninsulated primary wire, so they can safely fall the tree themselves. For your safety, HEA will remove the line and reinstall after the tree is safely on the ground for the cost of $60.”
HEA advises contacting them if you have a hazard tree on your property at 283-5831 or 235-8551 before making any attempt to remove it.