MIGHTY FINE
NEWS & TIPS
Take part in our recycled wood program and keep the fire burning
Call to schedule delivery 706-347-8733
Cord of unseasoned Oak (one dump trailer load) delivered in Athens for $200
outside Athens call for delivery pricing
wood will be dumped, not stacked
smoker wood also available, call for details
Red Oak, White (Post) Oak, Pecan, Hickory, Cherry, Persimmon
Trees mingle with utility lines fairly often in a well-developed community setting; trees get larger and roads get wider and utility lines get redirected. The city routinely addresses limbs and trees that are growing up, over, and around hi-voltage or overhead power lines. The rule of thumb is to keep the limbs ten feet away from the lines. If a tree or limb is at least ten feet away, then an experienced, professional, fully-insured tree company could provide pruning or removal of the tree. If not, then it would require a call to the power company first for more solutions on how to address the tree.
Service lines travel from the overhead power lines to the home. The responsibility falls to the homeowner to keep these lines clear of trees and tree branches as necessary.
If a tree removal is too close to a service line, sometimes it requires a service drop and should be scheduled alongside the power company to safely disconnect the line and drop it for the tree company to complete the work. After the tree work is performed, a call back to the power company will issue a reconnect and usually only takes 2-3 hours. The drop and reconnect can be coordinated by the tree care company with expressed permission from the customer.
If a tree brings down a power line, high-voltage or low-voltage, cable or phone, it should be considered live and electrified, hazardous, and should not be handled by anyone other than the service carrier or an experienced tree person who can make the proper calls to secure the work area.
Tree work in the spring season brings many surprises. When removing trees, especially dead wood, we are in prime habitat for birds and especially nesting woodpeckers. There are mainly eight (8) species of woodpeckers in Georgia and all are protected by state and federal laws, in fact “all species of birds encountered in the wild in Georgia are protected by state and federal laws except English sparrows, European starlings, and pigeons.” (Georgia Dept of Natural Resources)
During a dead Pine removal this spring we identified a nest with recent woodpecker hatchlings. The dead Pine was next to the home and certainly a hazard, but the birds are protected by law, and particularly at this stage the hatchlings are helpless to leave the nest and find another tree. In order to practice proper wildlife protection and assuage the concerns of the homeowner, we elected to cut dead pieces from the tree to avoid additional breakage and to guy the tree to a nearby stabilizer until we can return in a few weeks. Then we can be sure the baby birds will have a chance to fly the nest and ultimately re-home in another tree.
Woodpeckers and all birds encountered in the wild are protected by state and federal laws.
