With the simultaneous generation, delivery, and consumption of electricity, high-voltage power lines literally power the modern world. While underground lines are increasingly common in cities and new developments, the vast majority are above-ground, pole-mounted, and vulnerable to contact with vehicles, debris, and—of course—trees. Faults, caused by contact between high-voltage current and a grounded object (i.e trees), lead to service disruptions (outages), risk of electrocution via indirect contact with conductive objects, and, occasionally, catastrophic wildfires.
As wildfire risk rises throughout the northwest, so does the importance of managing trees in electric utility rights-of-way. This process (known as utility vegetation management, or UVM) varies according to state laws and the needs of individual utility companies. However, it typically begins with work-planning (a utility forester inspects power lines and surrounding vegetation, and prescribes line-clearance pruning or hazard tree removal where appropriate), followed by performance of pruning and/or removal by qualified line clearance arborists.
Interaction and collaboration with stakeholders (property owners, businesses, municipalities, etc.) is a vital piece of this process. Trees are valuable, and stakeholders often care about their preservation. Thus, the purpose and importance of tree work, when prescribed, must be communicable—and, when communicated well, helps to build trust and engagement within these communities.
Zachary is well-versed in many aspects of UVM. His strengths include stakeholder interaction, quality-control assessments (post-inspection and post-tree-work), tree appraisal, utility tree risk assessment, team-building, the mentorship and education of inspectors, outage investigations, post-fire risk assessment, report-writing, interaction with legal entities, and project management.
In his time as a utility arborist, Zachary has led UVM fire response operations on several major wildfires in California—notably, the 2020 LNU Complex (Meyers, Walbridge), Glass (2020), and Park (2024). These are often fast-paced, high-profile projects with elevated risk to inspectors and tree crews. By clearly communicating their unique hazards and by cultivating an atmosphere of personal investment in safety, Zachary can help your team mitigate risks and increase operational efficiency.
If you or your program are in need of a helping hand, or perhaps a well-informed third-party perspective, Zachary is ready and willing to assist.