Board Approves Tree Removal Plan

Supervisors took the first step in the enormous task to remove dead and dying trees up in the mountains that pose a hazard to public safety and mountain roads in the County. 

During their regular board meeting on August 9, Supervisors approved a plan for the County to work with CalFire crews in falling dead trees; along Balch Park Road, Bear Creek Road, Blue Ridge, Mountain Road 56, Sugarloaf Road, Eshom Valley Road and Old Stage Road – resulting in work on approximately 60 miles of road way.

The goal is remove as many as 1,300 trees located 15 feet from the roadway and will take up to four weeks to complete. According to estimates, the cost is about $12,500 a week.

Tulare County is home to the highest number of dead trees in California. The Sequoia National Forest alone has roughly 8.1 million trees identified as dead in the latest aerial detection survey conducted by the U.S. Forest Service.

“This problem is immense,” stated Supervisor Steve Worthley, who sits on the statewide Tree Mortality Task Force representing the interests of Tulare County. “There’s a lot of work to be done and it’s just the beginning. Let’s keep the ball rolling.”

The trees to be removed have already been identified and tagged. As part of the project trees will be cut down, with the smaller ones being chipped and ground up for erosion prevention, and the larger logs to be used as firewood.

Work is already underway in preparing Phase 2 for tree removal projects in the County. “We need to attack more trees and there is a lot more work to be done,” added Worthley.