Letter: Maybe now my HOA will listen about fire danger

Maybe fires will change minds

To the editor:

We and our next door neighbors in 2016 jointly requested the Canterwood Homeowners Association to allow us to remove four old tall evergreen trees because of the damage they were causing and the hazards they posed. The cedar and fir trees were only 15 feet from one house and 22 feet from the other house.

We were denied. We appealed but were denied again. Not a single member of the Canterwood board bothered to contact either us or our neighbor to discuss our multiple concerns.

My wife and I had lived through the 1991 Oakland Hills wildfire. We know first-hand what big tree fires can do. However, we were told “we don’t have fires here in western Washington.” Maybe after the past few days of fires in Sumner and Bonney Lake, they will open their eyes and realize that human life is far more important than a few trees.

John Arroyo

Gig Harbor

This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 11:37 AM.