Tree Risk Assessment in Memphis, TN

MLGW's contract crews trim trees that endanger power lines or block street lights, and may remove a tree whose trunk is within about 10 to 15 feet of a pole line if it endangers the line. Removing trees in the public right-of-way involves the City of Memphis, and city code requires replacement of right-of-way trees, including those removed by utilities.

Water oak: fast-growing, relatively short-lived and decay-prone Willow oak: big Midtown street and shade trees; aging Pecan: heavy limbs that break in ice and wind

Large water oaks and willow oaks planted decades ago are reaching the age where decay and limb failure increase.

Summer storms can uproot many large trees at once, as in July 2003.

Freezing rain loads limbs onto lines; February 2023 left hundreds of thousands without power.

Midtown and East Memphis lots have large trees close to houses and overhead lines running along streets and rear lot lines. MLGW clears trees around its distribution lines; work on a tree in contact with a line should wait for MLGW. Suburban lots in Cordova and Germantown have more room for equipment.