After Sunday's heavy snow downed trees and power lines, leaving thousands without power, OPPD is clearing up any confusion about who is responsible for trimming trees.
OPPD forester Mike Norris tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that if residents have trees in their yard encroaching on power lines, let them know. "We would encourage them to call us and one of our arborists will come out, inspect the tree and identify if there is a problem. Then we would go ahead and address it at that time."
Norris says if the limbs are within roughly ten feet of any lines, let them decide if it's safest for them to trim those branches. "We will go ahead and try to trim back each tree based on it's growth habit, the location of the tree, the type of wires, species of the tree, distance from the wires."
Homeowners should maintain any branches that are not near power lines, but if there is any question Norris says they'll let residents know. "We would inform the customer that, 'Hey, this situation isn't as bad as it may seem to you, so we will go ahead and address that at some point down the road.'"
Any tree branches that are cut down by OPPD must still be removed and disposed of by the homeowner. If you think you may need OPPD to come check out your trees, you can contact them online here or over the phone at 402-536-4131.