Stevens Canyon Trail: Tree/Power Lines Down

At the end of July, just as I got to the gate at the end of the paved road, a strange sound came down the power lines overhead. It sounded like the noise you hear in a rail way ahead of a far off train, or like a supersonic projectile whizzing by. You could see waves running down the lines and reflecting back from each power pole.

I thought a branch may have fallen on the lines up ahead and I did see one decent size branch hanging off the wires. Then I got to the steel bridge and saw what really happened. Wires on the ground after an enormous tree had fallen down from above and across the road and power/phone lines.

Since there's nothing up the canyon past here, I had assumed the lines had been disconnected when the last cabins were demolished about 8 years ago. But then a local resident came up to see why his power was out, so then I knew these lines were still live.

I decided not to push my luck this day and turned around and headed back home. Still ended up with about a 32 mile ride. Tree fell on 24 July and I suspect the crew I passed as I rode down the canyon had it cleared that day.

Why PG&E hasn't abandoned these lines is beyond me. These are the sort of lines that can cause fires when trees like this fall on them, as has happened many times in previous years. Then they actually sent a crew up to repair the lines! I guess it must cost money to disconnect a power line. You need to add disconnecting hardware to the end pole or additional bracing for that end pole since it'll be supporting the tension of the lines running up to it.

Then you still have this crazy policy of just pushing all the fallen wood off to the side of the trail, where it piles up year after year and adds to the fuel load if a fire ever starts. I guess it costs money to haul the dead wood away. Plus there are regulations relating to "sudden oak death" that makes hauling wood out of this area akin to hauling radioactive waste as far as the permits and logistics involved. And the main cause of sudden oak death is trees being to crowded together encourages the fungal spores to spread between trees via direct contact. Thin out the woods, like the indigenous Ohlone people did in pre-contact days and viola, problem solved.