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SALT LAKE CITY -- This is the time of year when utility crews worry about a bad scenario: a big snowstorm when there are still a lot of leaves on the trees. Depending on whom you ask, the leaves are either average for this time of year or two or three weeks late in falling off.
This is one of those things that are hard to prove. Rocky Mountain Power says no, the leaves are about average for November first. Salt Lake City's utility chief says, yes, the leaves are about two weeks late in falling off. And the city forester thinks they're even later than that.
In recent days, Eastern states have seen what happens when a lot of snow lands on too many leaves. Branches bend from the weight and drag down power lines. The result: widespread, long-lasting power outages.
You don't have to tell Sharon Mitchell about leaves. She's cleaned up a ton of them over the years for a property management firm. She says this year the leaves are late getting out of here.
"And I hate it when this happens because then the snow comes and there's all the leaves still on the tree and then all the branches break and it's just terrible," said Mitchell.
Power outages like those over the Halloween weekend can happen here. And it has happened here. That's why Rocky Mountain Power encourages preparation. The power company trimmed more than a quarter-million trees last year along high-voltage lines. But it's the homeowner's responsibility to maintain trees on the service lines that run from the power pole to the house. So the message is, get out and look. "Taking the necessary time to maybe walk their property, look for any hazardous trees or tree limbs that could potentially cause problems," said
"And so we do encourage people to prepare an emergency kit that includes things like heavy clothing, blankets, a first aid kit. Food. Ready prepared food so that all you have to do is open and consume it, it doesn't take a lot of heavy preparation. Flashlights, fresh batteries. A radio," she said.
Now, having said all that Rocky Mountain Power thinks they're in good shape this year. They're all caught up on tree-trimming along more than 11,000 miles of high-voltage lines. But they'll breathe a bit easier when all the leaves are off the trees.
But leaves can cause more problems than simply power outages. Even today's little bit of snow helped bring down a lot of leaves. There wasn't much damage to power lines, but this first taste of winter sent leaves rushing down gutters and creating big puddles.
"I know it's real tempting to rake your leaves into the gutter. But we'd really ask that you don't do that," said Jeff Niermeyer, Salt Lake City Director of Public Utilities
Niermeyer's crews were out draining puddles that backed up into streets and intersections Tuesday. The leaves are the main issue, and tend to plug up storm water inlets and drains.
He says the city has made a strong push to keep leaves out of the system. Homeowners are encouraged to use brown yard-waste cans. The city collects the leaves from the cans so they can be ground up into mulch. It not only helps keep storm drains clear, it keeps leaves out of the Jordan River, where they are a prime suspect in a major water quality issue: depletion of oxygen.
"It's really just the mass of organic material that gets flushed into the Jordan River and then settles down and decomposes," Niermeyer said.
Email: [hollenhorst@ksl.com](<mailto: hollenhorst@ksl.com>)
