A handful of log yards prepare for huge project
Private, temporary facilities meant to collect and process green waste are increasingly popping up in and around the Camp Fire burn scar as mandated hazardous tree removal and weed abatement ramps up.
The goal is to avoid the unsanctioned piling up of logs that took place during Pacific Gas & Electric’s tree removal last year. The yards must get temporary use permits from the town of Paradise or Butte County and meet certain requirements following new local rules set up last year. But the people running the yards now have said they’re concerned the scale of this second phase of tree removal could still overwhelm the limited infrastructure.
Tens of thousands of trees are expected to be removed from more than 17,000 private lots in the project, which could start as soon as late next month. It includes a government-funded and -run option as well as a private option.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and CalRecycle will be removing, processing and disposing of the trees covered by the government program, but the details of the plan have not yet been released. The main contract for the project is expected to be put up for bid soon.
A handful of private yards have come up in anticipation of having to process trees not covered by the government.
“If we’re not taking care of this disposal piece, it’s not going anywhere,” said Gary Warner, of Warner Enterprises, who runs a permitted green waste storage and processing yard at Lakeridge Circle in Magalia.
Lately, he said he’s been collecting lots of pine needles and small green waste from people who’ve been reminded by the town and county to clear the area around their house for defensible space in case of a wildfire. The site has been sending wood chips to biomass power facilities, primarily in Anderson. He said the market for lumber was flooded by the trees PG&E removed last year, and the window of opportunity for using the burned trees for lumber has passed.
Warner’s site has been permitted and operating since last fall.
Butte County is allowing up to 15 such yards, and Paradise is allowing up to 5.
One other site in the county has applied for a temporary use permit, and it is currently being reviewed by staff, according to Pete Calarco, the assistant director of the department of development services. The application is for the Old Durham Wood site at 1156 Oro Chico Highway in Durham.
So far, at least two have been permitted in the town. The Anderson Brothers Corp. and Alliance Builders Foundation are planning to set up a yard at the properties at 4716 through 4724 Skyway, though neighbors have strongly opposed the project over noise and traffic concerns.
Crossfire Tree and Vegetation Services, Inc. is expecting to open its collection and processing facility as early as Monday, said its owner, D.J. Gomes. The facility is located at 6480 Clark Road, across from the Paradise Alliance Church.
The company also does weed abatement and tree removal, as well as pickup of some green waste. Gomes said that people will be charged a fee for dropping off their green waste at his facility, like at any recycling facility. That is because the cost of transporting the chips and mulch to the biomass facility in Anderson barely covers the sale price. “It’s a wash,” he explained. He’s been busy with weed abatement as people take care of their defensible space and is readying to potentially hire more people to help with the hazardous tree removal once the details come out.
“I know that I can do what I have on the books, as a lot of the jobs are pretty quick, but I don’t know what the future’s going to be like,” he said.
A California Department of Transportation traffic management plan for the upcoming tree removal project identified eight possible processing sites and ingress and egress routes. None are final. The plan was presented to the Butte County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 11. The operation could generate up to 400 truck trips per day, according to the presentation.
The possible locations were at 14096 Lakeridge Circle, Magalia; 13665 Skyway Road, Magalia; 13186 Concow Road in Concow; 300 7th Ave., Oroville; the west side of lower Pentz Road, across from Miocene and Pentz; 3825 Pentz Road, Paradise; 3100 Skyway Road, Paradise; and across the street from 4620 Skyway Road.