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Project Owner
Sangre De Cristo Electric Association, Inc.
Location
Located in the mountains West of Buena Vista, Colorado
Work
700 miles of distribution with mostly pine and aspen forests, as well as in-town work
Time
16,000 hours per year
The main objective of the project was to reclaim the forested right of way.
Integrity Tree Services overcame many challenges throughout this project including terrain, weather, and labor issues.
Terrain
Much of the work on this project was located above 10,000 feet of elevation, with steep slopes and rocky soil. This reduced the amount of mechanized work that could be performed.
Weather
With the high elevation found on this project came significant snowfall. In this area, snow is common from October until May. Storms delivering up to four feet of snow were common during the early spring.
Labor Issues
The work for Sangre De Cristo started in the middle of the Covid pandemic, which limited the amount of available candidates. Additionally, Colorado has seen a significant spike in cost of living over the last five years. This has led to increased wages across the state. As a result, Integrity Tree Services was competing for candidates with companies from a variety of industries.
Integrity Tree services is unique in the Colorado marketplace because of the significant use of mechanized equipment. The advantages of using forestry mowers in areas of high wildfire risk is the removal of ground fuels. When using a traditional hand crew, the fuel would be left intact, which can increase the intensity of a ground fire in the right of way.
The equipment used on Sangre De Cristo include forestry mowers, bucket trucks, twelve and eighteen inch chippers, as well as ATVs and UTVs.
