Kelowna man says FortisBC 'ruined' his tree while he was at work

Photo: Giulio Di Palma

A Kelowna man says he returned home from work to find his beloved spruce tree cut in half by FortisBC.

Giulio di Palma tells Castanet that a month after returning home to discover his spruce was halved in the front-yard, he is yet to reach a resolution with FortisBC.

“I went to work at 9 or 10,” said Di Palma. “I came home and it was done. It’s like, what the ‘f’?”

Di Palma said that after weeks pushing for reimbursement, he has been told nothing will be done to address what he feels was a “violation” as well as trespassing. He says he received no advance notice of the work.

“If I was to try and sell the house, it wouldn’t sell. . . . I want (them) to take it down, grind it up and give me another tree.”

The cut was done due to the tree’s proximity to a power line.

FortisBC communications advisor Gary Toft told Castanet that notifications go out to property owners when a tree needs to be removed – however for trims such as at Di Palma’s property, notifications may not always come before the job is done.

“Given the size and scope of the problem of trees growing into our lines (it’s hard to guarantee),” said Toft. “We have upwards of 15 tree trimming crews working in 10 communities at any given time.”

Toft noted that this scenario is a common and large problem for power services in the province.

“Every year, trees that touch or fall on power lines in our service area cause more than 100,000 hours of electricity outage time,” he said. He added they “can cause power outages, energize nearby property, and can pose a fire risk.”

Di Palma said that while he heard the tree cut was "standard," he feels the policy doesn't apply well to his spruce. In his opinion, more attention should have been paid to preserving his tree.

"Even if it was topped at a very low point ... even if it was 20 feet straight across, I'd look at it and go, 'Ah, that's fine. At least there's bushes all around.'"

Acknowledging there are few options moving forward, he hopes the spruce standing on his front lawn will serve to create change in FortisBC's tree-trimming policies.

Photo: Giulio Di Palm