PG&E clearing tree limbs before the storm

The chainsaws roared and tree limbs fell as a crew of tree trimmers helped clear vegetation from PG&E power lines in North Monterey County on Wednesday.

We have arborists that inspect trees and look for signs that tell them they’re weak,” said PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado. “We identify these trees with aerial patrols. We actually have people on foot looking at them.”

After years of drought and disease, there are a lot of trees in trouble. Statewide, millions have died.

Prunedale homeowner Greg Turner pointed out problem trees around his property.

“You see all up in the side of the hills, dying oak trees. And these were sequoias that were dying from the drought.”

Turner said he has two or three power outages every year. PG&E cleared his vegetation earlier this year.

“Trimming all the trees, getting them back away from the power lines,” he said. “All the way down the line they’ve been taking care of them.”

With rain and wind in the forecast, the utility company is ramping up its resources.

“We use historic data to also see and pinpoint locations that need to be addressed. We also have a storm outage prediction model that lets us know where we need to deploy our resources to be able to restore power safely and as quickly as possible,” said Tostado.

For the next few days, Pacific Grove and the Santa Cruz mountains are on the company’s radar. It’s also setting up mini base camps in order to respond to outages and downed lines more quickly.

“They’re parked out on Salinas Road or Castroville Boulevard. You can see their equipment out there,” said Prunedale resident Kenny Rilling.

If you come across low hanging or downed power lines, PG&E says to treat them as live. Do not touch them and call 911 and PG&E.