In Quebec, the storm of May 21 caused immense material losses in connection with the fall not only of the branches, but also of the trees themselves: torn electrical wires, crushed cars, ransacked houses. The blackouts deprived hundreds of thousands of Quebecers of electricity. Traffic was halted on several roads. According to Hydro-Québec, trees were involved in 95% of power outages. We weren’t surprised to hear Sophie Brochu, general manager of Hydro-Québec, say in the media that trees should be kept away from the distribution network and avoid planting them nearby. Who would dare to say otherwise? I raise my hand.
Even before the storm hit, the risks of branches breaking and trees falling were already very high, as they were greatly increased by human intervention (Hydro-Québec, municipalities, Mr. and Mrs. Everyone, etc.). Each time we “clean up” a forest or open up the landscape, we weaken it. Each time we eliminate shoots considered unsightly along a trunk, we weaken the tree.
Each time you cut off the top of a tree, you stimulate it to produce branches that are even more at risk of falling. Each time we cut the roots of a tree to redo a sidewalk or dig a swimming pool, we destabilize it and make it susceptible to uprooting. The many prunings done to trees cause them wounds that expose them to diseases, in addition to weakening their structure, threatening their balance and shortening their life.
Let’s get along. Even healthy trees can be uprooted and snapped in strong winds, as can roofing or other exposed material. The question is not how to avoid all damage, but rather how to decrease the amount of damage as much as possible. With the increase in the frequency of violent storms, in connection with climate change, we can no longer afford to weaken the trees ourselves through our interventions.
A disturbing demonstration was made in the 1990s at Hydro-Québec, which has since turned a deaf ear. A scientific study, which it financed itself, reveals that the prunings it practices near the distribution network aggravate the problem of congestion of the network by trees. The significant pruning that it lavishes on the trees causes strong regrowth where they are undesirable. Worse, these prunings trigger a long-term recurrence of unwanted regrowth, forcing pruners to return every three to five years. The bill is hefty for the taxpayers who pay for inappropriate pruning in addition to being devastating for the trees.
Hydro-Québec would like to eliminate the trees rather than thoroughly question its intervention methods. The storm of May 21 sounds the alarm, not to denounce the excessive presence of trees, but rather to remind us of the urgency of restoring trees to their full potential (strength, stability, longevity) and the importance of increasing their number. (reduce the strength of the winds, temper the climate, etc.).
To really avoid any tree falling on the lines during violent storms, the trees would have to be planted more than 20 to 30 meters from the network, height that the trees reach maturity. Rather than eliminating the trees and depriving yourself of their many benefits, it would be wiser to solidify the distribution network by installing, for example, a wire (unpowered) above the conductive wires to physically block the passage and ward off falling branches.
As for the trees that grow near the network, it is important to allow them to do what they know how to do, which is to quickly establish a strong and stable frame that does not bend easily under the wind ( to avoid contact with wires, grounding and fire hazards). This requires closer monitoring of their development during their youthful phase (orienting their stems rather than pruning them, temporarily tolerating the presence of branches, etc.), which then makes it possible to reduce the need for long-term intervention. (see the book Trees under tension).
The storm that shook Quebec bent pylons and tore roofs off buildings. Nature was unleashed, and the risks of recurrence are great given the ongoing climate change. Going in the direction of Hydro-Québec’s recommendations would lead to a desertification of the territory wherever humans circulate and take up residence with their need to be supplied with electricity.
It is Hydro-Québec’s responsibility to recognize the failure of its interventions on the trees along the distribution network (truncated, diseased, brittle and dying trees). It is his responsibility to ensure, on the contrary, a harmonious coexistence of trees and electrical installations, and thus to make trees protective rather than destructive agents.