05/22/2026
For the last week or so, we have been reporting on the issue of power failure. Duke sent follow up information regarding the outage concerns of the I and J blocks. Earlier this week, Duke’s Senior Engineering Technologist visited the site to conduct an on-ground inspection along a significant stretch of the rear lot lines. During the walkthrough, the specific tree responsible for the outage on 5/8 was identified—a large oak, from which a branch had split and brought down the wires as well as damaged the pole.
The last scheduled vegetation trimming for this area was completed in 2024, as part of Duke’s standard five-year maintenance cycle. While inspecting, their technologist observed that no vegetation was currently growing into or near the power lines. However, there are numerous mature trees throughout the area, both within and outside the right-of-way, which stand well above the pole lines and could potentially impact the system if they break.
Importantly, the inspection did not reveal any dead or dangerous trees in the vicinity and the lines are trimmed within their vegetation management standards. This should provide some reassurance regarding the ongoing management of vegetation, but Duke will continue to monitor these mature trees as part of their reliability efforts.
A big thanks to Duke Energy for researching the issue and supplying this information!
