San Andreas, CA…The Butte Fire which started on September 9, 2015 not only destroyed 549 homes and 368 outbuildings, it also damaged or destroyed over 5800 trees that now pose a danger to the traveling public. With the Debris Removal Program now complete, Calaveras County will begin the next phase of clean up. This will include identifying, removing, and mitigating hazardous trees along County maintained public roads within the Butte fire burn area. The trees that will be assessed are located within the County right-of-way (R/W) or on adjacent private property

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The County entered into a contract with Tetra Tech Incorporated with approval from the Board of Supervisors on June 14, 2016. Tetra Tech will provide arborist services to identify hazardous trees as described above. As part of the arborists teams Tetra Tech will use local hires. This portion of the program will begin immediately and continue through Labor Day. Those “Hazard Trees” on public R/W will be identified and marked for future removal. Trees located on private property that pose a potential hazard will be identified and property owners will be notified by the County’s Public Works Department with a request for entry onto their property for further evaluation.

Once there have been a significant number of trees identified, contractors will begin the removal process. Cost of this program was estimated to be between 8 and 10 million dollars last fall. This amount is expected to dramatically change as many of the damaged and destroyed trees have been removed by utility companies and others. Funding for the Tree Removal Program is through FEMA and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES).

There will be no cost to property owners however, if they have insurance they must seek recovery from any benefits within their coverage. Under FEMA rules, a property owner cannot receive duplicate benefits. Those with no insurance are not required to reimburse the County.

Private Property owners that choose not to have their hazardous trees removed remain liable for damage caused by hazardous trees falling onto County Roads.

For more information, visit the Butte Fire Recovery website at www.butte.calaverasgov.us
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