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While the exact number of trees living in Portola Valley is not known, there is now one tree-related number that is: 31.

There are 31 trees in the public right-of-way and on private property that, if they fell, might start wildfires because of their proximity to power lines, according to the officials from the town, the fire district and the power company.

Public Works Director Howard Young drove around town recently looking for potentially hazardous trees near power lines. With him were Fire Marshal Denise Enea of the Woodside Fire Protection District and a representative from the Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.

The town is collaborating with PG&E to take down as many of the 31 trees as possible before the year ends, at a total cost of about $120,000, Town Manager Nick Pegueros told the Almanac.

Under the plan, PG&E pays for the cutting — about $60,000 for all 31 trees, drawn from a hazard-abatement account whose funds expire at the end of the calendar year.

Property owners pay to have the wood removed. The town’s share could be around $25,000, Mr. Pegueros said. Trees felled on private property require owner approval.

In a note to the Almanac, Mr. Pegueros noted the timeliness of this project, given the drought and its weakening effect on trees, predictions of a not-so-wet winter, and the fact that two serious fires in Woodside were the direct result of trees falling on power lines, including one in July along Canada Road near Godetia Drive.

“We must prepare the town for what could be one of the most threatening fire seasons on record,” he wrote. “In that regard, every little bit we do today to remove variables from fire risk, like large trees overhanging power lines … is a positive step toward improving the safety our community.”

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5 Comments

  1. Unfortunately, poverty owners can leave dead and dying trees standing and they can refuse to go to the expense of cutting them down. My PV neighbor had several dead and dying trees on the fence line with my Ladera property and refused to take care of that are,which is a conservation lot. Since they were not only a danger but also unsightly, I had them cut down and paid for the removal of accumulated deadwood from his lot.
    Will PV take care of such problems??
    Same neighbor failed to adequate cut the weeds at the fence line, as required by the WFPD code until reminded forcefully a number of times.
    Even now, weds were not cut back to the required distance from the fence line, except where it can be sen an inspected readily by WFPD.

  2. I have the exact same problem with my Westridge neighbor’s huge eucalyptus trees. They have not bee trimmed in over 30 years and some look as though they are dying. They have reused to take care of them and won’t let me trim anything except what’s hanging over my yard. I think the trees are a storm and fire hazard, but Portola Valley won’t do anything about it. Should those trees ever catch fire–lightning?–the entire hillside would burn. Oh well, I hope I’m not living here then.

    There needs to be a recourse for home owners who are dealing with neighbors’ dangerous trees.

  4. We’ve paid more than $2000 per tree if they are over 60 feet tall and over the house. Other smaller pines have been up to $1000. Thankfully we don’t have eucalyptus on our property, which I’ve heard can cost from $3 – 5,000 each, because the wood is a lot denser, trees are taller, and difficult to remove. The article says the Town is paying $25,000 and PG&E has the lion’s share with $60,000. So Town paying less than $1000 a tree, and since some I believe are eucalyptus, it sounds like a well-negotiated deal to me.

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