PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Public Utility District crews soon will trim trees along Beaver Valley Road, Rhody Drive to Ness Corner Road and all of Nesses Corner Road in Port Hadlock.
The work is part of a preventative maintenance program. Trees falling on power lines are among the leading causes of electrical outages for PUD customers, said Bob Phillips, special projects coordinator.
To reduce outages from trees, the PUD has in place a six-year tree trimming maintenance program. Customers can expect to see tree trimming in their areas about every sixth year.
Weather conditions significantly impact tree growth and the PUD will monitor and adjust its schedule to those changes when possible.
Since taking over the electric utility from Puget Sound Energy four years ago, the Jefferson County PUD has spent well over $2 million on tree trimming projects, Phillips said in a press release.
Free wood chips
The contractors working on the project will have free wood chips available for customers who request them on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority is given to customers in the vicinity of the tree trimming work.
Customers in the vicinity who are interested in wood chips should call or email Phillips at 360-302-0467 or bphillips@jeffpud.org.
Customers requesting chips will need to provide their address and identify an area on their property for the wood chips to be dumped.
The area on the property needs to be marked with a sign for the delivery crews.
No appointments are made for the delivery of chips and there is no guarantee that every person who requests them will receive chips.
For safety reasons, customers should not attempt to contact tree trimming crews working in the field, Phillips said.
Dangerous trees
The PUD also will respond to trees identified as potentially dangerous to PUD equipment.
Phillips urged customers to call the PUD when they spot potentially dangerous trees in or leaning toward power lines or other equipment.
PUD inspection will determine if the tree is an immediate problem or can be monitored for change over time, Phillips said.
When looking at the lines on PUD poles, PUD crews are concerned about high voltage wires on the top of the poles or the next wire down.
Several other utilities such as cable and telephone might have additional lines lower on the poles. Those utilities are responsible for maintenance on their own lines.
Customers are responsible for tree maintenance on trees impacting the service lines from the transformer to the meter. If in doubt, call the PUD at 360-385-5800 to report the concern and PUD staff will evaluate the situation.
For more on Jefferson County PUD, see http://www.jeffpud.org/.
