Tree Trimming

The City of Cameron Utilities Department strives to maintain a reliable electrical distribution system. One of the main causes of power failures in the City is due to trees and limbs coming into contact with power lines. Wind can move the limbs into the lines, or storms can break limbs where they fall onto the lines. In addition to power failure, fires can start from trees making contact with high voltage lines and equipment.

When your area is scheduled for trimming, the City will attempt to place door hangers, notify you by mail, or attempt to contact you in person approximately one week prior to scheduled work in the area. Staffing levels and emergency scheduling changes may not allow us to contact you ahead of time. If you have questions about upcoming work, call City Hall at 632-2177.

  1. A minimum clearance of 10’ from the closest line is required to keep trees and vegetation clear. While the City has a legal right to keep its power line easements and rights-of-way clear of vegetation, it recognizes that adjacent property owners often benefit from having the trees nearby. Where possible, trees in the City’s power line easement will be trimmed, instead of removed. When removed, however, the resident may be eligible to obtain a replacement tree from the City that can be planted on their property at a safe distance from the power line. This tree will be provided to the resident at no cost, or a substantially reduced cost.
  2. Routine right-of-way clearing activities will be performed on a 5-year clearing cycle to maximize productivity and minimize power interruptions for our customers.
  3. Property owners should never attempt to clear trees or vegetation from power lines. Call the Utility Department at 632-2177 to request a line clearing or report the problem using the Request Tracker function on this website, and someone will visit the site to determine if the work should be done by the Electric crews. Trees are generally removed from under power lines within the right-of-way. This is to avoid contact with the lines, as well as to provide a clear path for trucks and equipment making emergency line repairs.
  4. Trees causing power interruptions will be trimmed before other trimming work is performed. Trees determined not to be an immediate threat to electrical power distribution or public safety will not be trimmed until the scheduled routine maintenance.
  5. Trees outside the power line easement or right-of-way will not be cut unless the trees are determined to be endangering primary power lines or the removal of these trees will significantly benefit the reliability of electrical power. The City will notify the property owner that this condition exists.
  6. The City will not cut trees or limbs around service lines during routine maintenance, since these are usually on private property. The Electric Department crew will disconnect the service line upon request of the property owner, however, so the property owner can have the tree safely cut.
  7. Since proper pruning requires cutting at certain points, branches will be cut at a main branching point, or at the trunk, leaving no stub. Sometimes this means the branch is cut more than 10 feet from the lines, as all attempts will be made to preserve the health of the tree.

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  1. Brush and debris from tree trimming and right-of-way clearing will be cleaned up only in
    actively maintained areas. In non-maintained areas, brush and debris may not be cleaned up
    immediately, but the crews will come back and clean up during the routine maintenance
    schedule.
  2. Tree stumps that have been cut by hand down to near ground level will be treated with
    an approved herbicide to prevent re-growth.
  3. Brush and debris on private property that is the result of storms or power outages will
    not be cleaned up by the City since City crews are not allowed to do private property
    work. After severe storms that affect a major part of the City, however, a special
    declaration may be made where City crews do special curbside pick-up of brush/storm
    debris. These declarations are on a case-by-case basis and depend on the impact of the
    storm.