Power Line Clearing - yay!

[Fulkrum78]

So the utility company is clearing trees around my neighborhood. Looks like they went to town on two of the lots next door. Guess what I'm doing today? (Aside from wishing I owned a truck and could lift massive logs single handedly)

And my haul so far:

 

[Chas0218]

Did the same thing down the street from my house but was the gas line company. They cut down a lot of stuff. I grabbed a few nice logs with my ATV dragging them back to where I could buck them and throw them in the truck. Unfortunately mine was sycamore so it isn't the greatest of stuff but will get the job done.

 

[Fulkrum78]

Looks like oak and pine here. Stuff higher up the bank is gonna be left there; lower stuff the city will come get at some point (if I don't get to it first)

 

[nrc]

I have three large standing dead Ash trees on my property that the power company told me that they were going to cut down last year. A year later I call them up and evidently they've run out of money in their Ash clearing program. These are monsters by the power lines so they're too much for me and will probably cost a pretty good sum just to take down.

 

[Fulkrum78]

I have a huge chestnut in my front yard that got hit by lightning at some point before we moved in. It's still alive, but it's definitely taken a health hit. I don't want to know what taking it down would run. I know at some point it will have to happen (fall line could hit neighbor's house across the street) but...

 

[hamslam42]

I have three large standing dead Ash trees on my property that the power company told me that they were going to cut down last year. A year later I call them up and evidently they've run out of money in their Ash clearing program. These are monsters by the power lines so they're too much for me and will probably cost a pretty good sum just to take down.

I'm in Columbus too, and have an ash marked for take-down by AEP. Last time I talked to them they said they work on some kind of 4-year rotation so it could be a while before they take it down...but your post has me worried now! I want that firewood and was licking my chops with the free AEP tree work!

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like oak and pine here. Stuff higher up the bank is gonna be left there; lower stuff the city will come get at some point (if I don't get to it first)

Is that some Black Locust I see....yellow chips from a fresh saw cut? And I think I see some Sycamore...the shaggy bark stuff.

 

[Fulkrum78]

I figured that was pine? I really have no clue lol. I'll cut it down, season it, and hope it burns well!

 

[Woody Stover]

If it's BL, it'll weigh a freakin' ton! Even after it's dry in a couple years. The Sycamore may get pretty dry over the summer if you get it stacked in the wind soon, and don't split it real big.

 

[Fulkrum78]

Yeah, some of this stuff is heavy as hell. I'm still stuck with a fireplace, so no hurry on it drying. Wife won't let me get a stove for at least another year...

 

[Woody Stover]

Save the BL for the stove; It'll spark like crazy in the fireplace.

 

[nrc]

I'm in Columbus too, and have an ash marked for take-down by AEP. Last time I talked to them they said they work on some kind of 4-year rotation so it could be a while before they take it down...but your post has me worried now! I want that firewood and was licking my chops with the free AEP tree work!

When were they marked for cutting? Mine were marked in the Fall of 2014 as part of specific program to clear Ash trees. They cut a lot of out the neighborhood including two of the five they marked on my property before winter set in and they disappeared with three left uncut. This winter they came around and marked more trees for trimming. They came and did the trimming but left the Ash trees again.

When I called to find out why, I was told that the Ash tree program was separate from the normal four year trimming cycle and they had run out of money for it. On the normal four year trimming cycle they will only remove a tree that is an imminent threat to the line. Otherwise they'll just prune everything away from the wire and leave the tree.

 

[heavy hammer]

I get a lot of my firewood from power company clearing rightaways. Nice pickup, plus to them you are doing them a big favor by cleaning it up.

 

[AmbDrvr253]

Fairly certain the stuff in front in pic 2 is pine

 

[Dantheman300z]

What is the rule for right of way stuff like this? They are clearing on my street and a couple of weeks ago I took some cherry that had been cut down right along the road. Next day one of the neighbors came and chewed out my wife. Thoughts?

 

[Fulkrum78]

Fairly certain the stuff in front in pic 2 is pine

Agreed. We have a couple big ones out front as well. I'll burn it either way!

 

[Fulkrum78]

The wood is on my neighbors property, so I checked with him first. He didn't care, as long as it gets gone in a timely fashion via myself or the utility company. People from all over the neighborhood grabbed the little stuff!

 

[AmbDrvr253]

I would burn seasoned pine in my stove as well. Just do not have enough room for it. Have to be a lil selective due to space limitations. It is good for shoulder seasons.

 

[ZZ Tom]

Yeah, some of this stuff is heavy as hell. I'm still stuck with a fireplace, so no hurry on it drying. Wife won't let me get a stove for at least another year...

Perfect opportunity to get ahead on wood and start your stove burning with dry wood.

What is the rule for right of way stuff like this? They are clearing on my street and a couple of weeks ago I took some cherry that had been cut down right along the road. Next day one of the neighbors came and chewed out my wife. Thoughts?

Some missing cherry would be the least of his concerns. Me and you got a problem, come see me, leave my wife out of it.

 

[hamslam42]

What is the rule for right of way stuff like this? They are clearing on my street and a couple of weeks ago I took some cherry that had been cut down right along the road. Next day one of the neighbors came and chewed out my wife. Thoughts?

In general, it is best if you can get the owner's permission. It is in the right of way but it is still their property. Kind of funny thing happened to me last year. One of our neighbors got trees cleared in the right of way, and my wife got her permission to get any wood we could. One day I finally got the use of a friend's pickup truck so I went to get the wood. Problem is, even though my wife had met the neighbor lady I never had. She came home while I was loading rounds into a truck she didn't recognize and came after me like a bear. Took me a few calm minutes to explain who I was and who my wife was and she was then nice as could be and said "take all you want." But I learned a valuable lesson about communicating...and even if I get permission like that from a neighbor I like to now also communicate when I will be there picking it up.

 

[hamslam42]

When were they marked for cutting? Mine were marked in the Fall of 2014 as part of specific program to clear Ash trees. They cut a lot of out the neighborhood including two of the five they marked on my property before winter set in and they disappeared with three left uncut. This winter they came around and marked more trees for trimming. They came and did the trimming but left the Ash trees again.

When I called to find out why, I was told that the Ash tree program was separate from the normal four year trimming cycle and they had run out of money for it. On the normal four year trimming cycle they will only remove a tree that is an imminent threat to the line. Otherwise they'll just prune everything away from the wire and leave the tree.

They also marked mine in the Fall of 2014 and it was specifically for the Ash removal program. I know that because they also had a hackberry that had been marked for removal since Fall of 2013 and we talked about that tree too which by then had some of the power lines embedded in some upper limbs. They did come out in summer 2014 to take down the hackberry, and we thought maybe they would take down the ash too since it was only 10 feet away. But nope..."Different crew that does that...". I can't complain too much, because I have gotten a lot of AEP-taken-down ash from neighbors the past two years.

 

[Oldman47]

What is the rule for right of way stuff like this? They are clearing on my street and a couple of weeks ago I took some cherry that had been cut down right along the road. Next day one of the neighbors came and chewed out my wife. Thoughts?

It is simple. Any wood that the power company just has to cut along my property is still mine. I own to the center of the road, not just to my side of the right of way. The way property ownership is defined in different parts of the country varies a lot but a right of way is just that, it is not ownership. When I lived in SoCal the utility right of ways ran through densely populated neighborhoods and the space under major power lines were actually used for things like nurseries by their owners, not by the power company. She would have gotten more than an a$$ chewing from me for stealing wood from my property.

 

[Fulkrum78]

Went back for more today after work. Looks like the power guys came back for most of the big slabs. Still a couple at the top of the slope which I'll snag at some point and a bunch of logs on the next lot over. This may actually end up being well worth the effort!

 

[Woody Stover]

Went back for more today after work. Looks like the power guys came back for most of the big slabs. Still a couple at the top of the slope which I'll snag at some point and a bunch of logs on the next lot over. This may actually end up being well worth the effort!

I was gonna suggest going after the stuff up top, especially if there's more BL. Start stacking it now, for when you get a stove.

 

[Fulkrum78]

I trimmed a path over to it from my front yard and am systematically moving as much over at a time as I can. Sadly, I think most of the remaining black locust went with the cleanup crew today while I was at work. Not sure what's up to at the other lot yet.

I figure I'll move as much as possible now then trim/split it over the summer when time allows.