Fallen trees cut power in Pierce County last week. Here’s who to call when you see one
Fallen trees blocked traffic and cut power in three areas last week near Gig Harbor and on the Key Peninsula.
The latest tree-related outage affected almost 400 residents near Lakebay Tuesday morning, Nov. 14. A large tree on Tiedman Road “took down several spans of wire,” according to a Peninsula Light Co. tweet.
The road was partially blocked while crews made repairs. Power was restored after about three hours.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, another tree fell over a major roadway, Whitmore Drive Northwest at 78th Avenue Northwest near Gig Harbor. On Saturday, Nov. 11, trees and power lines fell near the Key Peninsula Fire substation in the Vaughn area after wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph earlier that morning, close to midnight, according to Peninsula Light Co.
A fourth power outage, not related to fallen trees, left over 50,000 people without power on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
How do crews remove fallen trees?
During fall and winter downed or leaning trees due to high winds are common, Anne Radford, a spokesperson for Pierce County told the Gateway.
Sometimes rain storms and mudslides also bring down trees, she said.
When a tree is leaning over a road, or if a tree falls along roads in unincorporated Pierce County, crews from the Pierce County Planning and Public Works Department’s Maintenance and Operations Division remove it.
“We will typically close the road or lane for the safety of the traveling public until the tree can be addressed,” Radford said.
If a tree needs to come down crews will use a chainsaw to cut the tree into smaller pieces, Radford said.
“Then we’ll run the pieces through a chipper before taking the material to our quarry in Orting to use later as mulch for plantings along our levee system,” she said.
In situations where utility lines are involved, Pierce County may use an on-call contractor to remove the tree.
“If the downed or leaning tree is entangled with utility lines, we contact the appropriate utility company to remove the lines and/or confirm the lines are not energized before our crews begin cleaning up the tree,” Radford said.
They close the road while they wait for the utility to respond, she said.
“Downed utility lines entangled in a downed tree may still be energized,” Radford said. “The public should stay away from the lines and tree and contact us to respond.”
Pierce County also sweeps leaves and debris.
“Crews regularly sweep the roads in unincorporated Pierce County using a street sweeper to remove leaves, dirt, and other debris,” Radford said.
When asked how regularly crews sweep, Radford said: “The schedule for sweeping is based on traffic counts, with major corridors being swept a few times a month and residential roads being swept about once a year.”
Weather also affects the schedule.
“Following inclement weather such as high wind events and rainstorms, crews will address tree debris in impacted areas by sweeping up leaves and removing downed trees and limbs,” Radford said.
Identifying dangerous trees
The department has a process for how crews respond to trees of concern that have the potential to affect roads and right of way, Radford said.
When they receive a report of a tree of concern, they visit the site.
“Based on our review, we will select the appropriate response based on our process, which includes having an arborist evaluate the tree, allowing the tree to remain, or removing the tree,” Radford said.
Asked if there’s a process for identifying problem trees before they fall, or if crews survey trees along major roadways periodically and mark problem trees for removal, Radford said: “We follow up on reports of trees of concern received from the public and Pierce County staff.”
Trees on private property or along private roads should be addressed by the property owner or the homeowners’ association, Radford said.
If the public is concerned about a tree impacting a county-owned road or right of way in unincorporated Pierce County, they can report it at www.PierceCountyWa.gov/Works or call (253) 798-6000.
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 2:12 PM.
