Tree Safety
The pruning of trees and removal of brush around power lines and poles is considered essential work and requires our teams to be out performing work, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. All electric utilities in California are required by law to maintain clearances for electric equipment. Inspecting, trimming and clearing brush near power lines is necessary to prevent unsafe conditions and maintain reliable service.
Providing safe and reliable service
The proper trimming of trees near power lines keeps trees healthy and helps:
- Save lives by removing electric shock hazards.
- Reduce the risk of fire.
- Prevent power outages.
Tree Safety Services
We take care of trees and brush near power lines to help keep communities safe and the lights on. We work year-round with qualified personnel to manage approximately 460,000 trees.
Services performed by certified arborists and vegetation management crews include:
Inspection of trees and vegetation
Tree and vegetation pruning and removal
Clearing brush around power poles and transmission towers
Quality assurance audits of work performance and compliance
Committed to best practices
As part of our Tree Safety Program, we also conduct community education and outreach, such as tree-planting events at schools. The Arbor Day Foundation® has recognized SDG&E as a Tree Line USA® Utility every year since 2002 for best practices in tree care, worker training and public education.
To protect yourself, never prune trees near electric lines
It’s dangerous to prune trees near power lines, so you should never try it.
Remember:
- It is required by law that any tree pruning within 10 feet of power lines be performed by a line-clearance qualified arborist.
- If you touch an electric line or an object such as a tool, ladder or tree branch that’s touching an electric line, it can cause a severe shock or death.
Inspections upon request
If you’re concerned about vegetation growing close to a power line or transformer, call our Customer Contact Center at 1-800-411-7343 to request an inspection. If a tree poses a hazard, we’ll prune it on a priority basis, within 24 hours or a few weeks, depending on how severe the hazard is.
Plant the right tree in the right place
Before you plant a tree, know where it will grow. You can help prevent power outages and fires by choosing a tree that won’t touch electric lines as it matures.
Vegetation management scheduled for your area
Use the interactive map below to see when vegetation management crews are scheduled to work in your area.
- Click anywhere on the map and the schedule for that Vegetation Management Area (VMA) will pop up. You’ll see the three-digit number that identifies the VMA for that community, the tree pruning schedule and, in some areas, the pole brush schedule (for brush removal around power poles and transmission towers).
- You can also enter your address in the search box to pin your location, then click anywhere within your VMA boundary and the schedule will pop up.
- To change the look of the VMA map, click the icon below the zoom-in/out (+/-) buttons and choose one of 12 base maps.
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