City offers advice
MEDICAL LAKE - Damaged trees continue to be a major topic of conversation as residents and fire victims continue recovering from the Gray Fire.
Thousands of trees were cut down by fire fighters and utility workers during the Gray Fire response according to a recent press release from the city.
Removal and disposal of the trees has been problematic as well, and that is because of the large amount of burned and downed trees.
According to the press release, the city, Avista, and a Gray Fire citizen volunteer groups are working to help Gray Fire homeowners with a no-cost solution for the removal and disposal of hazardous or unwanted trees.
This effort includes professional foresters, arborists, loggers, sawyers, and heavy equipment operators.
All trees on private lands are the property of the landowners, and they must give express permission before any trees can be removed from private property.
Properties larger than two acres must have a permit, which can be obtained by the loggers removing the trees.
Ownership releases will also need to be signed before any work is done.
Forms and sign-up sheets are available at City Hall.
The city is working to connect impacted property owners with needed resources.
Residents can get on the list for tree removal, which will allow loggers and volunteer groups to enter your property for that specific purpose.
Residents will then be contacted for a site-visit to identify trees needing removed.
The city said they can’t ensure all trees will be removed; however, they guarantee every effort will be made to remove as much tree and brush debris as possible within time and labor constraints.
These teams can remove nearly any tree identified by the owner for removal, but they can’t touch standing trees that pose a potential risk to Avista powerlines.
Avista customers with questions regarding risk trees are encouraged to contact Avista at 1-800-227-9187.
Risk trees were assessed prior to removal by certified arborists. Since the fire, crews contracted by Avista have removed over 5,000 risk trees.
According to Avista, the company anticipates additional trees will be identified as trees killed by the fire or bark beetles become more evident.
Typically, risk trees are cut safely and left for the homeowners to use.
Due to the high volume of trees cut in response to the fire, Avista is helping with removal and disposal in the current situation.
Avista has made attempts to contact all impacted customers in order to receive permission to remove trees, and started staging tree removal equipment.
Inland Power customers are encouraged to contact the company at (509) 747-7151.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources can offer advice regarding the prospect of salvage logging but they are not funding any salvage logging or general parcel cleanup.
The DNR is providing 20 pounds of grass seed initially to help with erosion and weed control for landowners.
The department is also looking at reforestation efforts, and named ponderosa pine seedlings to be planted in 2025 at the earliest.
DNR is also looking to partner with Spokane County Fire District 3 to offer a few “free chipping” days to reduce future potential fire hazard, but this is not confirmed yet.
Any Gray Road fire property owners that want help with the removal of unwanted or felled trees, please contact the City of Medical Lake Emergency Response Team at [email protected] or call (509) 505-3650 or come by City Hall, 124 S Lefevre St, Medical Lake.
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