Hydro to cut down more than 260 trees on stretch of Selkirk Avenue

Manitoba Hydro is removing 262 trees along a one-kilometre stretch of road in a Winnipeg neighbourhood to prevent power outages.

The trees, mostly Siberian elms, have encroached on 22 spans of 24,000-volt power lines on Selkirk Avenue, between Keewatin and Railway streets, the Crown corporation said in a news release Friday.

Crews will begin removing the trees next week. They are located between houses and a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. yard in the Burrows-Keewatin neighbourhood.

“We trim trees away from power lines where possible, but in situations like this, unfortunately removal is the only option,” Steven McDonald, who works in Manitoba Hydro’s forestry section, said in the news release.

“The priority is greater safety for our customers and employees, and fewer power outages.”

Siberian elms are a tall and fast-growing variety that are not compatible with overhead power lines, the public utility said.

It said trimming isn’t an option because it would not provide the required clearance or avoid regrowth.

Some power outages occurred when trees made contact with the lines on Selkirk, which provide electricity to thousands of homes and businesses.

Employees are put at risk when they make repairs and restore power, and there’s a danger to people if trees become “energized,” start fires or bring down lines, the news release said.

Earlier this year, the Crown corporation started devoting more staff to trimming and removing trees where necessary.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca