If a tree on your property is touching the electrical line that runs to your house, you have a real safety problem, and the first question is usually who is responsible for dealing with it.
The short answer: it depends on which line the tree is touching. PG&E maintains clearance around the big high-voltage lines, but many of the trees and wires close to your home are your responsibility. Getting that distinction right matters for your safety, your budget, and your fire risk. Here is how it actually works in Santa Rosa, and when to bring in certified Santa Rosa arborists rather than handling it yourself.
Who Owns Which Power Line
The first thing to understand is that not all wires are the same. Two kinds run through your neighborhood, and they belong to different people.
The high-voltage lines along the street are called primary distribution lines. They carry serious power, often thousands of volts. PG&E owns them, maintains them, and keeps trees cleared back from them.
Then there’s the smaller line that drops from the pole to a bracket on your house. This is the service drop. It carries the lower-voltage power your home actually uses. The portion of that line on your property is generally yours to keep clear.
Here’s the easy way to picture it. The tall lines crossing from pole to pole are PG&E’s concern. The single line angling down to your roofline is yours. That one detail trips up most homeowners.
What PG&E Clears, and Why the Law Requires It
PG&E isn’t trimming trees out of kindness. State law requires it, especially in a fire-prone county like ours.
Two rules drive the work. The first is General Order 95, the California Public Utilities Commission standard that sets minimum clearances around overhead lines. The second is Public Resources Code 4293, which sets fire-season clearances around power lines in high-hazard areas.
Under these rules, PG&E keeps a buffer of clear space around the primary distribution lines. In high fire-threat zones, that buffer grows. Much of Santa Rosa, Oakmont, and Bennett Valley sits in those zones, so crews trim aggressively here.
The good news is that this work costs you nothing. PG&E sends contract crews to trim around their lines on a regular cycle. If a tree near the street wires looks overgrown, you can report it and they will inspect it.
What PG&E won’t do is touch the service drop to your house or shape the rest of your tree for looks. Their job ends where the public line ends. We’ve walked plenty of Fountaingrove properties after a PG&E pass where the homeowner was frustrated by the lopsided cut. That cleanup is on us, not the utility.
Where Your Responsibility Begins
Once you understand the service drop, your part becomes clear.
The line from the pole to your home runs across your property. Keeping trees clear of it is generally your responsibility as the homeowner. The same goes for any tree growing on your land, even if a branch happens to reach toward the street.
This matters more than most people expect. A limb scraping the service drop can wear through the insulation over time. That can spark, knock out your power, or in dry conditions start a fire.
We see this constantly in older Bennett Valley neighborhoods. Mature trees have grown right up over the drop line for years. The homeowner assumed PG&E would handle it. PG&E assumed the homeowner knew it was theirs. The branch just kept rubbing.
We worked one of those jobs last fall. A homeowner called because her power flickered every time the wind blew. We found a coast live oak limb resting right on her service drop, slowly wearing the insulation thin. A short clearance prune solved it in an afternoon, well before fire season peaked.
If you have a tree leaning toward that line, it’s worth getting a closer look before the next windstorm. This is exactly the kind of power line clearing our crew handles safely.
Never Trim Near an Energized Line Yourself
This is the one rule we’ll repeat as often as it takes. Pay close attention to it. Don’t prune anything near an energized line on your own.
Electricity doesn’t need direct contact to hurt you. It can arc several feet through the air. It can travel down a wet branch or a metal pole saw straight into your body. Every fire season, people are seriously injured trying to clear a branch they thought was safe.
Even the service drop to your house carries enough power to be deadly. A ladder against the wrong wire is all it takes.
If a branch is anywhere near a line, the safe move is to call a professional. For work close to the primary lines, only a trained line-clearance arborist should ever get near them. We carry the certification and the gear to do it without putting anyone at risk.
Why This Matters So Much in Sonoma County
If you’ve lived here a while, you already know why trees on wires are more than an inconvenience. They’re a fire risk.
The Tubbs Fire tore through Fountaingrove and Coffey Park in 2017. The Kincade Fire pushed evacuations across the county in 2019. The Glass Fire scorched the hills above Santa Rosa and the Napa line in 2020. Every one of those events reshaped how we think about vegetation near power lines.
Trees touching energized lines are a known ignition source. A branch contacts a wire, it sparks, and in dry October grass that spark can spread fast. Add a 40-mile-an-hour Diablo wind and the stakes get real in a hurry.
That’s why clearance around wires is treated so seriously here. It’s also why keeping your own trees trimmed back from the service drop is one of the smartest fire-safety steps you can take. Pairing that work with broader wildfire fuel reduction around the home gives you real protection.
How PSPS Shutoffs Tie Into All of This
You’ve probably lived through a Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS. These are the planned outages PG&E triggers during high wind and low humidity to keep lines from sparking fires.
PSPS events are disruptive. Power can be out for hours or days. They tend to hit the hilly, tree-heavy parts of Santa Rosa hardest.
Here’s the part many homeowners miss. The cleaner the vegetation around the lines, the less likely a shutoff becomes in your area. Crews can also restore power faster afterward.
When trees are clear of wires, there’s less risk of a branch causing an outage and less inspection needed before power comes back. Keeping your trees trimmed is a small step that adds up across a whole neighborhood.
There’s a practical payoff too. If a tree comes down on a line during a wind event, your power can stay out long after the official shutoff lifts. Crews have to clear the tree and repair the line before they re-energize it. The homes with well-maintained trees tend to get their lights back first.
What a Certified Line-Clearance Arborist Actually Does
Line-clearance work is its own specialty. It’s not the same as regular tree trimming, and not every tree company is qualified to do it.
A certified line-clearance arborist is trained specifically to work safely near energized conductors. That training covers minimum approach distances, how electricity behaves, and how to prune without harming the tree or the line.
Here’s what the job typically involves on a Santa Rosa property:
- Inspecting the tree and pinpointing exactly where it threatens the line
- Confirming whether the work is near the service drop or the higher-voltage primary line
- Coordinating with PG&E when the primary line is involved, since the power may need to be turned off
- Pruning back to a safe clearance using cuts that keep the tree healthy
- Cleaning up the debris and hauling it off so nothing is left behind as fuel
The goal is never to butcher the tree. A skilled arborist removes only what’s needed for safe clearance while keeping the tree’s shape and long-term health intact.
When you’re hiring for work near wires, it’s fair to ask a few questions first. Are the crews trained specifically for line-clearance work, not just general trimming? Are they licensed and insured, with proof on hand? Will they coordinate with PG&E if the service drop needs to be turned off? Clear answers tell you a lot.
For trees that pose an immediate hazard after a storm, our 24/7 emergency tree service can respond around the clock.
What Line-Clearance Tree Work Costs
Cost is the question everyone wants answered, so let’s be straight about it.
For a single tree near the service drop, basic clearance pruning in Santa Rosa typically runs $400 to $1,200, depending on the size of the tree and how tight the access is.
Larger jobs cost more. A big coast live oak or a tall eucalyptus growing into the lines can run $1,200 to $2,500 or more, especially when a bucket truck or rigging is required.
If a tree has to come out entirely because it’s too close to the lines to save, removal in our area generally falls between $1,500 and $4,500, based on size, location, and proximity to structures.
Access is the wild card. A tree in an open Rincon Valley backyard is straightforward. The same tree wedged on a steep Oakmont slope takes longer, because every cut has to be roped down carefully. We’d always rather quote it in person than guess.
One more thing worth knowing. The sooner you handle it, the cheaper it stays. A limb you could trim for a few hundred dollars in spring can become a full hazard removal after it cracks in a winter storm.
How to Tell Whose Tree Is Whose Problem
When a tree and a wire meet, ask three quick questions to figure out who handles it.
- Is the branch touching the tall lines that run pole to pole down the street? That’s PG&E’s responsibility, and you can report it to them.
- Is it touching the single line dropping to your house? That service drop is generally yours to keep clear.
- Is the tree growing on your property? Then the tree itself is your responsibility, wires or not.
If you’re ever unsure, don’t guess and don’t climb up to check. Call a professional who can assess it from the ground and tell you exactly what you’re dealing with.
Sometimes the decision gets made for you. A winter storm rolls through, a rain-soaked valley oak lets go at the root, and a limb lands across your service drop. If a line is ever down, treat it as live. Stay back, keep kids and pets away, and call PG&E to report it first. Once they make the line safe, the tree still has to come off your property, and that part is yours.
For trees that aren’t touching wires but still sit close to your home, our crew can also help you meet the local defensible space rules that keep fuel away from structures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will PG&E trim trees near power lines for free?
Yes. PG&E trims trees around their high-voltage primary lines at no cost to you, because state law requires it. That work doesn’t extend to the service drop to your house or to general trimming of your tree. If a tree near the street wires looks overgrown, you can report it to PG&E for an inspection.
Who is responsible for the power line from the pole to my house?
The portion of that service-drop line on your property is generally yours to keep clear of trees. PG&E maintains the larger distribution lines along the street, not the drop to your roofline. If a branch is rubbing that line, have a qualified arborist clear it safely.
Can I trim a branch off the line to my house myself?
No. Even the service drop carries enough voltage to seriously injure or kill you, and electricity can arc through the air or down a wet branch. This is never a do-it-yourself job. Always call a trained professional to clear any branch near a line.
How close can a tree be to a power line in a fire zone?
In high fire-threat areas like much of Sonoma County, Public Resources Code 4293 and General Order 95 require larger clearances than in low-risk areas. PG&E maintains the required buffer around their primary lines, while you keep your own trees clear of the service drop. A certified arborist can confirm the right clearance for your specific situation.
Does trimming trees near power lines really reduce wildfire risk?
Yes, and it’s one of the most effective steps you can take. Branches touching energized lines are a known ignition source, and the 2017 to 2020 fires here made that painfully clear. Keeping trees clear of wires lowers fire risk and can reduce how often PSPS shutoffs hit your area.
Get a Free Look From a Crew That Knows These Lines
Sorting out trees near power lines doesn’t have to be stressful. Now you know the basic rule. PG&E handles the big street lines, and the service drop and your own trees are generally yours. When something is touching a wire, the safe move is always to call a professional rather than risk it yourself.
TreeEx Tree Experts is a licensed and insured tree service based right here in Santa Rosa, California Contractor #1115058, serving Sonoma and Napa County since 2020. Our crew works around PG&E lines safely every week, from Fountaingrove down through Rincon Valley and Bennett Valley to Oakmont. We’ll tell you honestly what’s your responsibility, what’s PG&E’s, and exactly what it would take to make it safe.
Call TreeEx at (707) 775-0204 for a free estimate. We’re happy to come take a look, point out what needs attention, and give you a clear plan with no pressure and no obligation.