If there’s one television show during my childhood that has altered my method of judgement, it’s Scooby Doo. Every Saturday morning episode involved a conflict, a questionable character and a sleuth of less likely suspects. We were all quick to point at the questionable character as the source of conflict in an episode, but would get blind-sided at the end when the sweet old lady or the clean-cut mayor was the culprit.
 
When most of us hear the term “danger tree” we think of dead, diseased or dying trees, usually with obvious signs of decline. While these trees aren’t necessarily trustworthy, they’re not your only suspects. The trees that seem the healthiest, less likely to fall or that grow outside of standard line clearance are the least of our concerns, but trusting in location or appearance makes these trees even more dangerous.
 
During the Spring and Summer, trees in decline are easier to identify due to their lack of foliage, but the trees that are harder to pinpoint are the ones with a fall-in trajectory that involves a line or a structure. Assessing this hazard can be difficult when foliage is present, but the dormant season is the perfect window to get an accurate measurement of these taller trees, especially on your NERC and FERC lines.
 
Edko’s Danger Tree Patrol program looks outside of your standard line clearance for those danger trees. We’ll not only locate potentially hazardous trees, but also mark them, plan for the tree crews, notify property owners and audit the work when it’s finished. This keeps your tree crews cutting, landowners happy and gives you greater peace of mind.
 
Contact your nearest Edko location to deploy a Danger Tree Patrol on your lines and build one more level of efficiency into your service reliability program.