Taking down hazard trees will improve safety, help get roads and communities open

Sept. 18, 2020

For more information, Patti Caswell, ODOT Maintenance, 503-913-9221 or Shelley M. Snow, Communications, 503-881-6362

SALEM – Burnt trees in the hundreds of thousands are threatening crews working to open roads and repair utilities across the state. Many of these dangerous trees are on private property – and normally it would be the responsibility of the landowner to remove them. To speed up our ability to get communities and roads open, ODOT and contractors will now get these trees down on the ground for the property owner at no cost.

“The danger we’re seeing for crews is truly unprecedented,” said Patti Caswell, Maintenance Environmental Program manager. “We need to get in as quickly and safely as possible to get these trees out of the way.”

Property owners should be aware that crews may come onto their property to take down these trees, without the normal process of reaching out to the owners first regarding the dangerous trees. The sheer number of trees and properties affected make the normal approach not feasible.

ODOT Foresters/Certified Arborists are prescribing removal priorities for the districts. Trees will be dropped and left on private property whenever possible. If there are safety concerns, the trees will be hauled to an offsite location.

“These efforts will save people impacted by the fires at least one cost and remove one more problem to face,” Caswell said.

Only trees that are presenting an immediate danger or that will present a near-future danger to the road or utilities will be taken down.

“We’re only clearing what we need to clear so we can re-open the highway or because the tree will be a danger in the next three to six months,” said Caswell. “It’s more cost effective to get them down now.”

Landowners can contact the ODOT District Office in their area if they have questions or concerns, and patience is appreciated during these times as staff is focused on recovery.

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See the 9/16/2020 video of OR 224, east of Estacada, taken by ODOT Videographer Julie Murray.

Pictured above: crews work to remove fallen trees along OR 18. For more visuals, see ODOT's wildfires photo album on Flickr.

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