Ted Prows' letter to the Desert News on April 4 indicated he was unhappy with the way Utah Power trimmed his trees near some overhead power lines. He stated that his trees had been brutally cut and damaged by a new Utah Power contractor whose crews don't know what they are doing.
Large growing trees and overhead power lines competing for the same space will result in conflicts. There are no easy answers to this problem. Burying all power lines underground is not the solution. This would cost billions of dollars, and tree roots would have to be removed.The State Forester's Office has been working with Utah Power for 10 years to develop better methods to prune tree branches away from the power conductors. We attest that Utah Power's present contractor, Trees Inc., has been and is currently pruning trees near the power lines in the best manner possible. Its crews have been properly trained to meet the standard set by Utah Power, and that standard has been approved by the Utah Public Service Commission.
The proper method for line clearance pruning is termed "directional pruning." This means that the contractor removes only those branches that are growing in immediate conflict with the primary power conductors. Branches growing away from the conductors are not cut. Pruning cuts are made at junctions with larger branches that are a minimum of 15 feet away from the lines.
The old line clearance pruning standard stated that an arbitrary cut be made at a set distance of 15 feet from the lines. This left long stubs that would quickly sprout shoots that grew back into the lines, necessitating additional, more frequent pruning cuts.
A free list of recommended species is available from the Utah Community Forest Council, P.O. Box 961, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.
Tony Dietz
Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands
Salt Lake City