Motorists driving on Highway 9 between Ben Lomond and Brookdale may notice fewer trees dangling over the power lines during their drive. They may also notice the massive fallen logs perched along the steep slope above the roadway.
Both of these are due to a massive effort by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s program of tree removal in the hopes of avoiding power failures caused by falling trees during winter storms.
The problem is, as several residents have pointed out, the logs are being left where they fell.
“They’ve been cutting and leaving the debris, branches, everything,” said Ben Lomond Fire Protection District Chief Stacie Brownlee. “They’ve been doing it all over.”
“You could roll those logs off of the edge and just kill somebody,” she said. “A couple of them you could just push, and they’d hit a car (on Highway 9).”
According to Steve Wiesner, assistant director of Public Works for Santa Cruz County, similar complaints were received when PG&E removed trees along Alba Road and Graham Hill Road.
“To us, it’s an ongoing issue,” Wiesner said. “They’ve left logs precariously perched, and we’ve worked with them to clean it up.”
Ordinarily, Wiesner said, PG&E contracts out the tree removal work to other companies who, in turn, often simply leave the logs for local residents to chop up for firewood.
The problem with the stretch of Highway 9 is that this particular area is virtually inaccessible due to the steep terrain and lack of shoulder space on the road, Brownlee said.
“We are working with PG&E, and we are working hand-in-hand now to get that area cleaned up,” said Jim Shivers, public information officer for Caltrans’ 5th District.
Brownlee also mentioned several locations where drainage pipes, installed by Caltrans in the 1980s on the hillside to prevent mudslides, were severed by the fallen logs.
Shivers said that Caltrans has looked into the drainage pipe reports and is not aware of any current damage to drainage facilities, but urged fire officials to contact Caltrans if they were aware of any breaks.
Calls to PG&E representatives seeking comment were not returned before press time.
