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The Davey Bulletin | September/October 2017
MUDSLIDES,
STORMS TOPPLE
CALIFORNIA TREES
After years of drought, California
peaked with more than 90 percent
of the state listed under some level of
drought and 60 percent experiencing
severe drought by September 2016,
according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Thanks to unrelenting rain, the
drought was considered over for
nearly 80 percent of the state by
March 2017. Suddenly trees weakened
by years of drought conditions failed
in the heavy storms.
Ben Johnson, area supervisor, Davey
Tree Surgery Company, said his crews
on the PG&E Central Coast account
spent January and February doing
nothing but storm restoration work
by removing downed trees and limbs
to help PG&E restore power to
thousands of utility customers.
"In my 20 years of working at Davey,
it was definitely the worst damage
I've seen," Johnson said.
Johnson stressed to his crews that
safety was paramount. "There were
a few instances where we delayed
a job in order to wait for improved
conditions, and the client supported
us fully in those rare instances."
In several cases, failed trees affecting
power lines were in the middle of an
active mudslide. Other challenges were
large trees that had failed, knocked
out a power line but were hung up
in a phone line or another tree.
Raul Rios, general foreman, PG&E
Central Coast account, said on one
call they encountered a roadside,
two-stem eucalyptus tree about 160
feet tall that had fallen but became
entangled in a cypress tree on one
side of the road and another large
eucalyptus tree on the other side
of the road. The fallen tree was
suspended about 30 feet above
the street and spanned the width
of the roadway.
"Everything went perfectly according
to our job briefing, but it was a nearly
20-hour job," he said.
The central coast crews worked
thousands of long hours without
a single recordable incident.
Johnson credits their focus on safety
with efficiently and effectively aiding
the client during these record-setting
winter rainstorms.
"I've never been through a hurricane
or any other similar natural disaster,
other than an earthquake, yet this
was above and beyond anything we
expected," he said. "We took pride in
making sure we were working safely
and doing the best we could to assist
our client."
MY DAVEY
This was common damage for the peak of the winter rainstorms in California earlier this year.
A large tree fell due to heavy rain in
California this winter and flattened this
Toyota pick-up truck like a pancake.
