It’s victory for a Kelowna homeowner who was upset with a tree pruning job done by FortisBC earlier this year.
The power company has now removed the rest of a spruce tree following repeated calls by the property owner to do so.
“It’s a happy day,” Giulio Di Palma told Global News. “Fortis has changed their tune and said, about three weeks ago, that they were looking at helping me out and making it good.”
In April, Di Palma came home to find half his tree gone after he said FortisBC did some heavy trimming without giving notice, though the tree was perilously close to power lines.
The tree was so heavily trimmed that Di Palma called FortisBC to remove the rest of it.
He was one of many residents who contacted local news outlets to discuss local tree-trimming policies.
Many also accused the company of carelessly trimming trees and taking too much off.
The issue has now caught the attention of Kelowna’s mayor, who says he’ll be meeting with FortisBC to discuss possible changes.
“I’m extremely hopeful going into the discussion,” Mayor Tom Dyas told Global News.
“Even what has taken place in the last week, with them going back and visiting some of the sites and some of the work done and making changes there, it allows me to be very optimistic.”
In the meantime, Di Palma says he can’t speak for others “because everybody’s got a sort of a different tree and different wires and so, but I’m happy, and I’m glad that they did come and do the right thing.”
Global News has reached out to FortisBC for comment.
In an email sent to Global News earlier this spring, Fortis BC said, “We hear the concerns community members have recently raised about how we manage trees and vegetation impeding the safety zone around infrastructure and will be reviewing internally.”
The company also said all of its tree trimming is done by third-party certified utility arborists.