Trees come down as Chugach Electric begins clearing easements on Anchorage Hillside

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Hundreds of trees on the Anchorage Hillside will be coming down this summer as Chugach Electric Association has begun work to clear utility easements that stretch from the Dimond Area and O’Malley area up to Bear Valley.

Communications Director Julie Hasquet said the utility works on a three-year cycle when it comes to its Vegetation Management Plan — it involves clearing trees from 20-foot-wide utility easements. In some cases, she said, those easements run through people’s backyards which is why they want Hillside residents to know that crews from Carlos Tree Service will be coming to remove trees over the next three months.

“Sometimes folks just haven’t wanted us to cut down their trees, but we have the legal right and actually, by code, that’s our obligation, is to keep our easements clear,” Hasquet said.

Clearing trees and other vegetation from easements is done year round to try and prevent trees from falling on power lines and causing outages. But Hasquet said work on the Hillside this summer will also help to mitigate the wildfire danger.

“[The Anchorage] Fire Department has told us what concerns they have about the wildfire danger on the Hillside, so when we come in to clear the trees out of our easements, we are hoping that homeowners are going to be understanding and actually supportive to get that vegetation on the ground,” she said.

Hasquet said trees are either chipped and mulched or cut into logs out of the easement that is left for locals to use.

The work this summer will impact several community council areas, including Abbot Loop, Bear Valley, Glen Alps, Hillside, Huffman/O’Malley, and Rabbit Creek. A community-wide meeting is planned for Tuesday, April 8, in Gateway Hall at the Alaska Zoo from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hasquet said representatives from Chugach Electric, the Anchorage Fire Department, and contractor Carlos Tree Service will be on hand to discuss easement clearing plans and wildfire mitigation and answer questions from the public.

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