To Trim Or Not To Trim (Power Lines)

[happypalms]

I just read your story Jim one lucky bloke to be alive. My conclusion there is a certain age when you don’t climb ladders anymore. I have some stags and elks I want to put high up on some palms unfortunately at my age now I wont be doing that. I hope you purchased a lottery ticket that day.

[rizla023]

I’m sorry, Jim to hear about your experience.  We are happy you are still here with us..

This story lead me to rethink everything I’ve done so far given my new start back in 2022. I planted a royal two years about 12 feet away from the main lines, which now I’m wondering to myself if I should cut it down now or enjoy it for the next 10-15 years before it gets tall enough and then cut it down. I also planted a double kentiopsis olivformis and a cliff date right underneath, but those are much slower. 

[rprimbs]

I used to be an electrician.  I don't have the nerve to prune that close to the power lines. That amount of electricity can easily kill you. 

They just put in new poles near my house which moved the wires higher.  I can safely put trees (oaks).  I need to do that before they get any taller.

It's good to hear that you're okay.

[Foggy Paul]

Just seeing this since the thread got bumped. Glad you made it through this Jim and hope there are no lingering effects. I should be so lucky that my palms would be anywhere near the hi tension lines…but they are there.

[rprimbs]

Just so people don't get confused, the dangerous power lines are the uninsulated ones out on the street. The insulated lines that run from the street to your house are much safer -- like an insulated extension cord.

[rprimbs]

Maybe I should add a little more.  Uninsulated wires are used because they are much more efficient than insulated ones, like the insulated lines that run under the ground.  When you have uninsulated lines the electricity does not just travel through the wire.  It also travels through the air around the lines.  There is a 'field' around the lines.  If you 'break' or enter that field, while grounded, the electricity will arc to you.  So only use fiberglass ladders near uninsulated lines.

[Merlyn]

@rprimbs I'd also add that ALL above ground wires should be assumed to be uninsulated.  Even if they are insulated, like the ones from the street pole to your house, they may have been in place for decades and the insulation will have cracks in it.  The uninsulated cables are done that way for a variety of reasons, such as cost, weight savings, heat dissipation capacity, and insulation breakdown with UV exposure.  Since there's no way for you to know the voltage on the cable, the best choice is to never get within 10 feet or so of one. 

[Foggy Paul]

4 hours ago, rprimbs said:

Just so people don't get confused, the dangerous power lines are the uninsulated ones out on the street.

Actually, these lines run through our back yards, which avoids any street trees but are a hazard for the often larger trees in back. The neighbors’ cherry tree (top right in my photo) will undoubtedly have PGE out here to hack on it very soon. 

[Than]

Oi, look after yourself mate, we need knowledgeable palmers! Glad you are well. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

6 hours ago, rprimbs said:

Just so people don't get confused, the dangerous power lines are the uninsulated ones out on the street. The insulated lines that run from the street to your house are much safer -- like an insulated extension cord.

Richard, we don’t have power lines by the street. All power lines here run through the backyards. 

[rizla023]

On 9/29/2024 at 7:46 PM, rizla023 said:

I’m sorry, Jim to hear about your experience.  We are happy you are still here with us..

This story lead me to rethink everything I’ve done so far given my new start back in 2022. I planted a royal two years about 12 feet away from the main lines, which now I’m wondering to myself if I should cut it down now or enjoy it for the next 10-15 years before it gets tall enough and then cut it down. I also planted a double kentiopsis olivformis and a cliff date right underneath, but those are much slower. 

royal is about 15ish feet away from the pole, probably 10-11 feet away from the line.

its funny because I see so many washies literally on lines on the side of the road around the city. 

[rprimbs]

On 10/1/2024 at 1:19 PM, Jim in Los Altos said:

Richard, we don’t have power lines by the street. All power lines here run through the backyards. 

Is there an ally? How do they service the lines?

[Jim in Los Altos]

3 hours ago, rprimbs said:

Is there an ally? How do they service the lines?

Utility companies service the lines at the poles by accessing homeowner’s backyards. The poles that service my home are located on my neighbor’s side of the property line so they never need to come into my backyard. That includes the cable companies that have wires running across the same power poles. 

[Foggy Paul]

23 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Utility companies service the lines at the poles by accessing homeowner’s backyards. The poles that service my home are located on my neighbor’s side of the property line so they never need to come into my backyard. That includes the cable companies that have wires running across the same power poles. 

Exactly the same here in this particular area of SF, although not at all common around the city. 

[Silas_Sancona]

12 minutes ago, Foggy Paul said:

Exactly the same here in this particular area of SF, although not at all common around the city. 

Think this is < was > the standard  -in the older neighborhoods at least-  around the South Bay / other parts of the Bay Area..  One of the poles that held up lines going through my old neighborhood was in a corner of my grandparent's yard. 

Accessibility may have been why a Bougainvillea that was growing in that corner was yanked / majority of Hollywood Junipers that lined the rest of the back fence growing up were cut down.

Don't recall overhead lines in the newer neighborhoods i watched get built in the late 80's / 90s / Neighborhood directly across from my grandparent's. Pretty sure it had been built in the mid / late 70s.


Lines are buried / transformers accessed from Alleyways ( older neighborhoods ) here in Chandler.