PG&E tree trimming draws mixed review from neighbors in Sonoma County

Pacific Gas & Electric contractors have cut back or removed several hundred trees around power lines along a highly visible gateway to the Russian River Valley, sparking complaints from residents upset about the resulting traffic backups and loss of trees along the scenic road.

The project, designed to prevent wildfires and power outages by creating a larger safety buffer around PG&E electricity lines, has dramatically changed the appearance of a 5-mile stretch of River Road outside Fulton. Tree-lined views have been replaced by the sight of scaled-back eucalyptus, half-cut fruit trees and redwood stumps.

Fulton resident Sharon Dennis, who commutes to work along River Road, said she was disappointed that PG&E contractors removed so many trees in the corridor, including some that appeared too short to make contact with a power line. But she said she understands the need to err on the side of caution for public safety.

“I understand both sides of the coin,” Dennis said. “PG&E has been hyperactive about taking trees out and not asking and just doing it. But if it’s between a tree or my life, I’m pretty sure I’m going to make the right decision.”

Cal Fire has found PG&E equipment caused 17 large fires in Northern California last year. In 11 of those fires, Cal Fire investigators allege PG&E violated state codes, primarily by failing to clear vegetation around its power lines. A report is still pending on the most destructive of the 2017 wildfires, the Tubbs fire, which killed ?22 people and burned more than ?5,600 structures in Sonoma and Napa counties.

Residents of Butte County have already filed lawsuits that seek to hold PG&E responsible for November’s Camp fire, which became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history. A cause has yet to be determined, but PG&E has informed state regulators that one of its transmission lines may have been involved.

Tree trimming along power lines is “the new normal,” PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said. The San Francisco-?based utility must meet heightened state maintenance requirements designed to prevent limbs and branches from coming into contact with power lines in areas deemed at high risk of dangerous fires, she said.

The project on River Road was part of a separate initiative to prevent power outages on a key transmission line that runs for 15 miles between Fulton and Monte Rio, Contreras said. Since 2007, PG&E said it has experienced nine outages caused by branches falling on the 60,000-volt transmission line.

“We check this line every year for compliance, and any tree that has the capability of falling on the line within the easement needs to be worked, trimmed or removed,” Contreras said. “If it’s a hazard tree, we are required by law to remove it.”

The project is also tied to a larger push by the utility to meet new safety requirements in areas of west county facing a high risk of wildfires, which encompasses sections of west Sonoma County including Monte Rio, Rio Nido and Forestville, said Contreras.

Company officials make every effort to contact landowners to explain the need for trimming back dangerous trees to reduce fire risks and outages, she said. No property owners along River Road have filed a formal complaint seeking to stop the work, and complaints in other areas have been limited, she said.

“We understand our customers love trees, and we love trees,” Contreras said. “We work as much as we can to help them understand the importance of this work and trying to reduce wildfire risks and how it is state-mandated work.”

The first phase of work, which began in September, required only a county permit for traffic control because PG&E possesses a 40-foot-wide easement below its right of way. The project is expected to be finished by the end of January. Contreras declined to reveal the cost.

Motorists have encountered short delays this fall when River Road is closed to a single lane, allowing PG&E contractors to use cranes and a wood chipper to remove trees along the road.

County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose district encompasses much of west county, said constituents have complained to her office about the River Road project and other PG&E tree removal work earlier this summer in high-risk fire zones in west Sonoma County.

Some took issue with the traffic backups, while others voiced concern over the number of trees removed. Many wanted the utility to place the electricity lines underground, an approach Hopkins said the county will continue to support.

“While I see undergrounding as a very viable solution, it’s not something where we snap our fingers and all the lines are undergrounded before the next fire season,” said Hopkins. “I would love to save all the trees, but absolutely more critical than that is preventing the catastrophic loss of huge numbers of trees in our forests and huge numbers of homes.”

PG&E is in the midst of completing a pilot project to bury power lines along a half-mile segment of the tree-lined Bohemian Highway in Monte Rio to better understand its expense. That project is expected to cost ?$1.6 million, and the company estimates burying line to cost about ?$3 million per mile.

Rio Nido resident Pip Marquez de la Plata said the community did not receive enough advance notice from PG&E about the type of work it would be doing in the area this summer.

“They didn’t figure out how to get the right information to the right people actually sitting in the middle of the forest,” he said. “People just want to know that it’s managed correctly. They want to know what’s going on and to know the trade-offs.”

Erosion issues caused by tree removal during the rainy season near Mark West Creek is the biggest worry of Russian Riverkeeper, a local watershed conservation and protection group.

“I think with respect to clearing trees from the lines for fire protection, we can see the service of the greater good,” said Don McEnhill, the nonprofit’s executive director. “As long they take the appropriate measures to remedy the soil disturbances, it all comes back to the goal of creating a more fire-secure environment. Hopefully they’re doing things right and paying heed to the possible water quality issues.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.