OPD Contractor To Trim Trees From M.V. Power Lines

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

As summer season coming to an end, the Overton Power District (OPD) is turning its attention to clearing out powerline corridors of trees and other vegetation. And a special emphasis is being placed on the lines in the Moapa Valley community.

The OPD has contracted with professional tree service company, Asplundh, to come to Moapa Valley in the coming weeks to do the work. Their job will be to trim or remove trees that have grown within 10 feet of the power lines.

In an interview with the Progress, OPD Distribution Manager Bruce Hughes explained that the tree service will first send out a planner to speak to property owners in areas that have been targeted as needing work.

“The planner will go door to door, in advance, in those areas, to homes that have trees in the power line right of way,” Hughes said. “They will notify the customer what is going on and give information on what will be done.”

Once those notifications have been made, a three-man crew equipped with a bucket truck and an industrial chipper, will go through the area to trim the trees, Hughes said.
“We are looking for a 10 foot void between trees and power lines,” Hughes added. “That is because when there are trees within that space, it can present a real safety hazard.”

Hughes emphasized that there is no need for property owners to go out and trim the trees themselves, or to hire their own tree service to do so. In fact, they are being requested not to do this for safety reasons.
“Safety is a huge factor in this situation,” Hughes said. “We don’t want customers, or other unqualified workers, to be working up within that close proximity to power lines.”

Hughes explained that the district requires the tree trimming company to be trained and certified specifically to work around power lines. Many standard tree trimming services don’t hold those certifications, he said.

In most cases, trees will just be trimmed out of the 10 foot area. But in some cases it may be required to remove trees that are too close to the lines, Hughes said.
“In the case of palm trees, for example, removal of the tree may be required,” Hughes said. “That’s because palms have such agressive growth; and if we just trim them back, we would have to be back there in 3-4 months cutting them back again. So the tree trimming company have said that they just prefer to take them out if they are going to be an ongoing problem.”

Hughes acknowledged that some property owners might be somewhat sensitive about having their trees cut back. But he pointed out that when trees are growing in the right of way, there is really no choice but to trim them back to maintain safety.
“If it is within that 10 foot zone of the power lines, it is really not an option to do nothing,” Hughes said. “We have to trim them back.”

For more information about this process, area residents can contact Overton Power District staff at 702-397- 2512.