Dallas

Tree Trimming in Lakewood Leaves Homeowners Upset

Some homeowners in the Lakewood neighborhood of Dallas are upset after watching Oncor crews cut back trees limbs to protect power lines.

"They seem to be taking an awful lot out of these trees," said Bond Carter, who has lived in the Lakewood neighborhood for three years.

"They seem to be coming out pretty far and cutting out things below the power lines," Carter said. "If the power lines are at the top, a lot of the stuff that they're cutting out doesn't seem to be a threat to the power line."

The tree work is part of Oncor's year-round maintenance across North Texas to insure electricity continues flowing to homes and businesses.

"We know that customers love their trees, and so do we," said Oncor spokesman Kris Spears. "But trees and power lines do not mix, especially during storms, and we're right on the cusp of storm season."

Oncor crews say that, in most cases, the tree limbs must be kept 10 feet from the power lines.

"We want the limbs a safe distance from the electrical wires," said homeowner Fran Charbeneau. "But we feel 10 feet in this older neighborhood is really detrimental to the health of the trees and the beauty of the city."

"These are our trees. This is why people pay top-dollar to live in Lakewood, is for the trees," said neighbor Kim Sinnott. "I think that us homeowners have to be out there and really pay attention to where they're cutting."

Oncor says it reached out to homeowners to let them know the crews were coming.

"I guess when the leaves come back in we'll see what they look like and maybe I'll just cut them down," said Carter, who watched crews cut back three trees in his backyard.

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