Seattle City Light is committed to ensuring safe and reliable power delivery to the residents of Lake Forest Park. Vegetation has been the largest single cause of electrical outages on their system and they have begun performing additional regularly scheduled link clearance work through their system network. They are planning on working soon within the City of Lake Forest Park to begin this maintenance effort.
To prevent power outages, Seattle City Light is required to maintain a proper clearance between vegetation and /power lines, wherever possible. This clearance distance is consistent with Washington Administrative Code 296.24.960 and arboricultural industry Best Management Practices.
Maintaining these clearances may require significant structural pruning that alters the tree's natural growth form and shape. City Light makes every attempt to respect the trees' form and property owners' aesthetic values while ensuring the required clearance distances are met. To the right are some examples of what could occur from proper line clearance pruning.
Seattle City Light only contracts with qualified line clearance tree trimmers who adhere to ANSI A300 arboricultural pruning standards. For work within the City of Lake Forest Park, they have hired Davey Tree Service. These standards include:
Using directional pruning techniques
Emphasizing proper cuts to minimize damage to the trees
Not “rounding over” or “balancing” trees for symmetry
To reach out directly to Seattle City Light with any questions regarding this upcoming work, you can contact them via email at SCLvegetation@seattle.gov.