Are these power lines a concern being next to a tree?

2748 Views 19 Replies 13 Participants Last post by gregzoll, Feb 7, 2016

miamicuse

Discussion Starter · Feb 6, 2016

3

OK so Florida Power and Light came through and put up new power lines.

The old power lines were about 5' outside of the property line and are round wood poles and all the lines (Comcast cable, AT&T, FPL etc...)

Now they came and used a giant machine and dug a big hole at the property line (5' back from where it used to be) and put in a much taller concrete pole.

A week later big trucks came and moved the power lines to the higher pole.

I guess cable TV, AT&T etc...will eventually move theirs to the new poles and the old poles will be cut down.

Meanwhile, when they put up the new poles, and lines come very close to my palm tree that was a good 10' away from the old lines, and now I can see the new lines will be touching the palm as it gets taller, and with the hurricanes we get who knows.

Unlike other trees, palms can't be cut, truncated in a traditional sense.

I called FPL and asked if they could come and "whack" off the palm fronds close to the lines since it was them who created this situation. They said no. Now I have to pay every few months for some landscape company to come with a bucket truck to trim fronds and pray that they won't hurt themselves when the fronds accidentally fall on a line and snap something?

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WhatRnsdownhill

· #2 · Feb 6, 2016

leave it alone, you didnt create the issue, if the power company is not concerned neither should you, I have the same issue at my place upstate with the power lines very close to a pine tree, they came and trimmed and I asked the lineman doesnt that pose a danger and he said no, the branches will just burn back if they hit the electric line..its been a few years and no issues...

Reactions: 1

Speedy Petey

· #3 · Feb 6, 2016

ShtRnsdownhill said:
leave it alone, you didnt create the issue, if the power company is not concerned neither should you, ...

This is the bottom line.

Reactions: 3

Know A Little

· #4 · Feb 6, 2016

Speedy Petey said:
This is the bottom line.

And if they are concerned the tree comes out or at a minimum gets a trim job that looks like Stevie Wonder did it.

Reactions: 4

Desertdrifter

· #5 · Feb 6, 2016 (Edited)

ShtRnsdownhill said:
leave it alone, you didnt create the issue, if the power company is not concerned neither should you, I have the same issue at my place upstate with the power lines very close to a pine tree, they came and trimmed and I asked the lineman doesnt that pose a danger and he said no, the branches will just burn back if they hit the electric line..its been a few years and no issues...

Unfortunately that's not always true. Trees do cause outages just by contacting an exposed primary wire. All the time.

I would also question how far back they set the pole. Do they have that much "right of way?" Are they widening the street? Maybe that's why the lines are all street side.

Just an observation.

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joed

· #6 · Feb 6, 2016

Unfortunately if you complain they will likely prune the tree, NOT move the pole.

Reactions: 2

Jim Port

· #7 · Feb 6, 2016

The whole purpose of cutting the trees back is to prevent outages. The lineman was wrong.

Reactions: 1

joecaption

· #8 · Feb 6, 2016

Not you problum any more, let them address the issue.

Reactions: 1

gregzoll

· #9 · Feb 6, 2016

FPL will come along and cut back or down and trees that are too close to the new lines.

My guess is that the Palm Tree is right at the edge of the Easement, since the new poles were planted there. I think that you may be in for street or other infrastructure improvements if they are putting in the new poles.

Time to go have coffee with the mayor, to see what is slated.

gregzoll

· #10 · Feb 6, 2016

Know A Little said:
And if they are concerned the tree comes out or at a minimum gets a trim job that looks like Stevie Wonder did it.

That is the truth. The barbarians that trim the trees in our city, always end up coming back to take the tree all the way done, after the homeowner comes home and sees hardly anything left.

Our city pays out millions for paying customers back for the hacks taking out trees that are not even a hazard to the lines.

Nik333

· #11 · Feb 6, 2016

What happened to the raccoons?

Reactions: 1

gregzoll

· #12 · Feb 6, 2016

Nik333 said:
What happened to the raccoons?

Miami probably took them over to city hall after they came home to this. Perfect payback.

Reactions: 1

Desertdrifter

· #13 · Feb 7, 2016

Jim Port said:
The whole purpose of cutting the trees back is to prevent outages. The lineman was wrong.

If it was a actually a real lineman that answered.

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AllanJ

· #14 · Feb 7, 2016

gregzoll said:
Our city pays out millions for paying customers back for the hacks taking out trees that are not even a hazard to the lines.

Near where I live, once a tree that was 15 feet away from the power line drooped over during an ice storm and its top branches shorted out a primary line. Two days later the ice had melted off and the tree stood back up and no one could tell that that tree was the culprit without first having seen it bent over.

Small branches or palm fronds waving in the wind and touching primary lines would be burned through in seconds but a large bough or branch that dropped on the wires could take so long to burn through that a primary line fuse (up on a pole) blows, usually with a loud bang suggestive of a dynamite explosion.

gregzoll

· #15 · Feb 7, 2016

AllanJ, actually the line fuses sound more like a 10 gauge being shot.

bernie963

· #16 · Feb 7, 2016

depends on how close you are to the line fuse when it blows!!!

bernie

Reactions: 1

Jim Port

· #17 · Feb 7, 2016

gregzoll said:
AllanJ, actually the line fuses sound more like a 10 gauge being shot.

Who are you to be the arbiter of sound interpretation? I have heard them trip and shake windows. The backhoe operator was more than a little scared.

Oso954

· #18 · Feb 7, 2016

I would also question how far back they set the pole. Do they have that much "right of way?" Are they widening the street? Maybe that's why the lines are all street side.

I think the only way to know what they are doing, is to call FPL. My guess is that it's part of the long system strengthing program that has been replacing poles with stronger wood or concrete poles, to minimize the number of poles lost in hurricanes. It's quicker to rehang wire if you don't have to replace poles.

Sidewalk areas are franchise areas in many states. I have never liked the idea of poles just behind the curb, although many cities and POCOs did it that way in the past. Setting the poles at the rear of the sidewalk area keeps them further away from the traffic lane, has less interference with pedestrian traffic, does not interfere with people exiting cars that are parrallel parked, etc. Setting the poles back also provides a cleaner, wider appearance when looking up or down the street.

Keeping the lines on the street side keeps them in franchise vs necessitating purchase of additional right of way.

Reactions: 1

Desertdrifter

· #19 · Feb 7, 2016

Oso954 said:
Keeping the lines on the street side keeps them in franchise vs necessitating purchase of additional right of way.

Agreed.

I'd also call. Typical right of way here is 10'. I would question that placement if it were here.

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gregzoll

· #20 · Feb 7, 2016

bernie963 said:
depends on how close you are to the line fuse when it blows!!!

bernie

I have one about 60 feet behind my house and another about the same distance to the South in our alley.

Every time they blow, you find freshly cooked tree rats up on the transformer where the fuses are.

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