Tree removal near power lines in Washington and Oregon

The 10-foot rule, in both states

Oregon OSHA’s tree and shrub service rules require any employee who is not a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer to stay at least 10 ft from lines energized at 50 kV or less, plus 4 in for every 10 kV above that (OAR 437-002-0306). Washington’s rule is WAC 296-24-960(6): unqualified persons, and anything they are holding, stay at least 10 ft from unguarded overhead lines up to 50 kV, plus 0.4 in per kV above 50 kV. “Anything they are holding” includes a pole saw, a ladder and a falling limb on a rope.

Federal OSHA’s tree-care hazard bulletin uses the same numbers for ladders and aerial lifts (10 ft, plus 4 in per 10 kV over 50 kV) and adds the instruction that matters most to a homeowner: if workers cannot stay at least 10 ft from the lines, the utility has to be contacted to de-energize and ground them first (OSHA HB 3731, 2014).

Ten feet is also the number the utilities use. Portland General Electric keeps “at least 10 feet” of clearance around its primary lines; Clark Public Utilities clears trees within 10 ft of its overhead lines; Avista’s standard is 10 ft from distribution and transmission lines; Snohomish County PUD says work within 10 ft of a primary conductor must be done by a qualified electrical worker. The rules are written for employers, but the physics apply to homeowners, and a tree service that offers to “just be careful” inside the zone is telling you it does not know the rule.

What a “qualified line-clearance tree trimmer” is

Work inside the 10-ft zone is a different trade with its own rulebook. In Oregon it falls under Division 2, Subdivision RR (Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution): OAR 437-002-2300(1)(e) covers line-clearance tree trimming done for the line operator, 437-002-2317 sets the line-clearance rules, 437-002-2311(3)(a) sets minimum approach distances by voltage, and 437-002-2300(2)(c) sets the training a line-clearance tree trimmer who is not a qualified electrical employee must have.

Washington defines the “line-clearance tree trimmer” in WAC 296-45-035 and regulates the work in chapter 296-45: a trimmer going closer than 10 ft to a conductor over 600 V needs a second trimmer within voice range, must keep the minimum approach distances in Table 2 of WAC 296-45-325, must use insulating equipment, and must stop in adverse weather (WAC 296-45-455).

The federal counterpart is 29 CFR 1910.269, the electric power standard. OSHA’s 2021 tree-care inspection guidance notes that some line-clearance trimming falls under 1910.269, some under the general electrical rules in Subpart S, and work near phone and cable lines under the telecommunications standard, 1910.268; 1910.269(r) also carries its own rules for chippers, stump cutters and chainsaws used on line-clearance jobs.

In practice line-clearance crews work for the utilities under contract. A residential tree service is almost never one, and it does not need to be: it needs the utility to clear or drop the line first, then it does ordinary tree work.

Who owns which wire

Look up from the sidewalk. The wires at the top of the pole, on insulators, are the utility’s primary distribution lines. Lower on the pole, often bundled, are secondary lines. The single bundle that runs from the pole to the side of your house is the service drop. Below all of that, usually sagging the most, are cable and telephone lines. The International Society of Arboriculture describes the same stack: communication lines lowest, which carry no power but can become energized; secondary lines above them at household voltage of 120/240 V, many insulated; primary lines on top of the pole or on cross arms; and transmission lines on taller structures that often carry hundreds of thousands of volts (ISA, Avoiding Tree and Utility Conflicts, 2021).

• Primary and secondary lines on the pole: the utility prunes around them on a cycle and at no cost. PGE’s cycle is every 2–3 years, Tacoma Power’s is 4 years, Peninsula Light’s 3–4 years. Seattle City Light’s targets are 10 ft of clearance for slow-growing trees and 14 ft for fast-growing ones on distribution lines.
• The service drop: this is the gap. Puget Sound Energy states it does not trim service lines. Snohomish County PUD does not maintain vegetation around service lines. Avista calls the pole-to-house wire the homeowner’s responsibility. Seattle City Light prunes only the first 10 ft from the distribution connection and leaves the rest to the owner. PGE trims the service wire only if branches strain or abrade it. Forest Grove Light & Power asks for 3 ft of clearance from service lines and 10 ft from distribution lines, with the service line the owner’s.
• Cable and phone: not the electric utility’s. EWEB says telecom owners are responsible for their own lines; Snohomish PUD excludes stand-alone communication lines. They carry little or no voltage, but a tree service still treats anything tangled with a power line as live until the utility says otherwise.

The practical fix for the service drop is a temporary disconnect: Pacific Power offers a free temporary service disconnect so an owner or licensed crew can work near the service line; Puget Sound Energy does a safety disconnection with at least 5 business days’ notice (1-888-321-7779); Clark Public Utilities offers a free secondary-line disconnect; Avista’s is free with at least 3 business days’ notice, weekdays 8–3.

Who to call for each utility

Request lines are for trimming near the utility’s lines; outage lines are for a tree on a wire, a wire on the ground, or sparking. A downed wire is also a 911 call; Seattle City Light says so explicitly.

Timing matters. In NOAA’s Storm Events Database, 1,185 of the 1,493 High Wind, Strong Wind and Ice Storm reports logged in Washington and Oregon from January 2016 through June 2026 (79%) began in November through March, and 1,323 (89%) from October through March (our count from the NCEI files). A tree leaning toward the service drop is cheaper to deal with on a September disconnect appointment than after it is on the wire.

Numbers checked 2026-10-02 on each utility’s own page. Smaller utilities, co-ops and PUDs from EWEB to Chelan County PUD are on the utilities index.

Free utility trimming vs your own cost

The utility pays for clearance around its lines, on its schedule, to its standard. That standard is clearance, not shape: PGE sends notification letters before cycle work, Seattle City Light leaves a door hanger, and Snohomish PUD has an ISA Certified Arborist evaluate. A request outside the cycle gets a visit if the tree is a hazard to the line. None of them will remove a tree on your property for you because you want it gone, and none will prune the side of the tree that faces your house.

Your side of the ledger is the rest of the tree. Once the utility has cleared or dropped the line, a standard removal is priced like any other. Our model gives $900–$1,800 in Oregon and $850–$1,700 in Washington for a 25–50 ft tree, $1,800–$3,600 and $1,700–$3,400 for 50–80 ft, with a crane day adding $1,500–$3,500 when the only drop zone is under the wires. Modeled estimate, not quotes (method). The model has no line-proximity multiplier; the cost of lines shows up as a disconnect appointment, a few days of lead time, and sometimes a crane. Full ranges are on the tree removal cost page.

One free option is real: a tree the utility judges a threat to its primary line may be removed by the utility’s contractor at no cost. Pacific Power describes routine pruning near distribution lines at no cost, and Grant County PUD says it trims or removes vegetation that may contact its lines at no charge. Ask; the worst answer is no. More on free tree removal in Washington and Oregon.

Replanting near power lines

The tree that replaces the one you removed decides whether you are back on the utility’s list in 15 years. ISA’s planting guidance splits the ground near distribution lines into three zones by distance from the wires:

Source: ISA, Avoiding Tree and Utility Conflicts (2021). By that table a Douglas fir, which OSU lists at 80–200 ft, belongs only in the tall zone. ISA also notes that gas operators often keep 10 ft on each side of a pipeline free of trees, with height limits out to another 25 ft, and that you should have underground lines located before you dig a planting hole. In both states that is an 811 locate request made at least two full business days and no more than ten before digging (RCW 19.122.030 in Washington; Oregon Utility Notification Center). Where a permit requires a replacement tree, check that the species your city accepts also fits the zone; see tree removal permits in Oregon and tree removal permits in Washington.

Notify the utility before work near high-voltage lines

Oregon makes notice a legal duty. ORS 757.800 defines “high voltage” as more than 600 volts and covers anyone who contracts to perform work within 10 ft of an overhead line. ORS 757.805 requires that person to guard against accidents under Oregon OSHA’s rules and to notify the utility in advance. The penalty for skipping notice is financial: a party that fails to comply is liable to the utility for all damage and accident costs, including third-party claims, while a party that gave notice and substantially complied owes only its comparative share. The Oregon PUC audits utility vegetation programs annually under OAR 860-024.

Washington has no matching notice statute for tree work. Chapter 19.29 RCW sets construction clearances for electrical apparatus and a two-person rule for live work over 750 V, but says nothing about tree trimming, and the Utilities and Transportation Commission regulates the utilities, not tree crews. The duty in Washington sits in the L&I safety rules above (WAC 296-24-960; chapter 296-45 WAC), plus the crane rule that makes the utility supply voltage information within two working days of a request (WAC 296-155-53408). Either way, the sequence is the same: call the utility, get the line cleared or dropped, then schedule the crew.

Permits for the tree itself do not change because a line is nearby; check tree removal permits in Oregon and tree removal permits in Washington. Back to the tree removal hub.