SoCal Edison To Remove 11K Palm Trees Over Wildfire Risk

30 March 2021

Published by https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/

USA – LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – In an effort to mitigate the threat of wildfires, utility giant Southern California Edison announced last week that it will remove 11,000 palm trees which are located too close to its power lines.

SCE announced Friday that it will begin removing the palm trees in April. The process will take about two years.

Some cities that will see removals include Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, La Canada Flintridge, Malibu, Lake Elsinore and Santa Ana.

SCE says that removing the palm trees is significantly more effective that trimming them back.

“We are looking to remove these palms to avoid any fires or outages,” SCE vegetation management and forestry manager Jon Pancoast said in a statement. “Trimming this species only stimulates growth, so it’s best to remove this type of vegetation. State regulations require that all types of vegetation should be at least four feet away from power lines in high fire risk areas at all times. We make sure it doesn’t grow back and touch a power line before we’re able to schedule another inspection.”