Terry Stokka has lived in Black Forest for 29 years. He is president of the Friends of Black Forest, chairman of the Black Forest Land Use Committee and chairman of the Black Forest Water & Wells Committee.
The Tri-State dilemma
By Terry Stokka
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association generates electricity using coal, natural gas, wind and solar power. Mountain View Electric Association purchases that electricity from Tri-State and distributes it to members like us. With the recent increase in lawsuits against electric utilities over wildfires allegedly caused by their power lines, these companies are going to great lengths to minimize the risk of such fires.
Of course, completely preventing wildfires is impossible. However, power suppliers must be able to demonstrate in court that they have made reasonable efforts to mitigate fire hazards.
Recently, San Isabel Electric Association was sued by residents in Beulah and nearby communities who blamed the Aspen Acres fire on SIEA power lines. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. faced bankruptcy following lawsuits related to the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California. Lawsuits have also been filed in Hawaii and Boulder, Colorado.
Tri-State’s transmission lines are easily recognizable by their tall towers and wide swaths of cleared timber. The rights-of-way for these high-voltage lines are designed to prevent trees along the edges from falling onto the lines. MVEA also faces vegetation-management challenges along its rights-of-way, which are narrower. Both utilities must address trees and vegetation that could come into contact with power lines and potentially cause a fire during storms or high winds.
At a Sept. 29 meeting in Black Forest, Tri-State and MVEA provided information about plans to expand vegetation management along their lines. The route begins west of Hodgen Road and Colorado Highway 83, extends generally east along Hodgen Road to Vollmer Road, then south to Shoup Road. From there, the route branches east across Meridian Road and south along Raygor Road.
Where the lines pass through wooded areas, crews will clear trees and underbrush beneath them to improve safety and reduce fire risks. Where trees outside the rights-of-way are particularly tall, crews also may need to remove some of them because they could fall onto the lines.
These plans have prompted objections from residents who live with power lines in their backyards. Although these residents may own the land beneath the lines, easements generally give utilities the right to access and maintain the rights-of-way, limiting the landowners’ control over that work.
To further complicate matters, Tri-State acknowledged at the beginning of this effort that some rights-of-way had been incorrectly located. Officials said the crews that originally installed the power lines and cleared the rights-of-way did not follow the blueprints, placing some lines in the wrong locations. Tri-State is now resurveying the areas and working to obtain replacement easements that accurately reflect the legal boundaries.
For some residents, this means additional trees on private property may have to be removed to establish the correct rights-of-way and allow for effective vegetation management. Even where the boundaries are correct, tall trees — often the most valuable and majestic ones — may face removal because they could damage power lines if they fall. All of this comes down to reducing the utilities’ exposure to lawsuits while improving safety and reliability.
The Tri-State dilemma pits the need to correct improperly located rights-of-way against the concerns of residents who may lose even more trees as a result. Without adequate vegetation management, Tri-State believes it could be vulnerable to lawsuits if a wildfire occurs.
MVEA has faced controversy of its own over vegetation management along its rights-of-way in Black Forest. In some cases, the utility has topped trees or cut off their upper branches to keep them clear of power lines. Needless to say, residents value their trees and don’t want to lose them. As a result, the battle lines have been drawn.
Time will tell how this plays out, but no one is likely to emerge a winner. If only the crews who originally installed those power lines had followed the blueprints in the first place.
