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Mayor: DEC open to tree removal after blackout

LAKE PLACID — After a 19-hour power outage Feb. 25-26, leaders of this village and the town of North Elba met with state Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Director Robert Stegemann on March 8 to discuss possible changes to the right of way through which Lake Placid’s electricity travels.

Speaking last week, Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall said DEC is open to working with National Grid to identify trees that need to be removed, such as those that are dead. Randall said officials learned the tree that caused the power outage on Feb. 25 was dead at the time of the storm.

“My sense was that there is a recognition on (DEC’s) part that trees put that line in risk and can be considered for removal,” Randall said, “trees that, generally speaking, would put the safety of that line and the public interest of maintaining that power flow.

“So we are working through it,” he added.

Every part of the power line south of state Route 86 and east of Ray Brook is in the Saranac Lake Wild Forest, part of the “forever wild’ Adirondack Forest Preserve where trees normally may not be cut.

Lake Placid electric Superintendent Peter Kroha has said the only way to solve the problem of another similar outage occurring is to widen the right of way through which the power line travels to Lake Placid. He’s said rights of way are normally cut back 50 to 60 feet on each side and that the width of the right of way where the dead tree fell on wires is closer to 10 to 15 feet. He’s also said National Grid went in and marked trees after the 1998 ice storm, though the village was only allowed to cut a portion of those trees due to their location on state land.

Randall said he, North Elba Supervisor Roby Politi and Kroha met with Stegemann and other DEC associates on March 8. The mayor said discussion centered around DEC’s role in assisting National Grid with the marking of trees to be removed. Randall said the village has researched the right of way since the outage and noticed trees with ribbons on them that had previously been marked for removal for an undetermined amount of time prior to the storm.

“We had one of our electric people go out and take pictures of the area where we were concerned,” Randall said. “Some trees have been marked at some time in the past.”

Randall added that Kroha, who is scheduled to retire at the end of the month, has communicated with National Grid on the matter since the storm.

“There are probably trees there since (the power line was installed in) 1978 (that) have grown tall and died,” Randall said.

The mayor added that staff of Gov. Andrew Cuomo have reached out to village officials several times since the blackout to ask if any further assistance is needed.

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