Hydro-Québec trims and fells Beaconsfield trees in preparation for winter storms

Hydro-Québec is currently trimming and felling trees in Beaconsfield to reduce the risk of wires being pulled down during storms.

When strong winds and ice accumulations take down the tall trees of Beaconsfield, they can take power lines along with them.

Hydro-Québec is doing preventative work to avoid those kinds of outages.

Spokesperson Cendrix Bouchard said the network is composed of 11 lines “and we will carry work on nine of those between this year and next year.”

Beaconsfield resident Liam Dickson loves his trees but says they need maintenance.

“A lot of the trees in this neighborhood are overgrown and, mind you, it's so expensive.”

He said it cost him $6,000 last year to fell two big trees, “so it’s an investment you have to make.”

Hydro-Québec says they're on the job – but it does need permission from homeowners to treat and cut trees down.

The mayor welcomes the work but wants a more transparent timeline of what to expect.

Georges Bourelle says the city needs a clear schedule for what's being cut, when, and where so replacement trees can be planned.

“We have to try to contact the residents in those areas and ask them to get in touch with us when they find out that their tree is being felled by Hydro-Québec to replace at your convenience and free of charge,” he said.

Hydro-Québec says residents can use their website to find out when crews will be in their neighbourhood.

“With their postal code, they can see when we're going to be in the area,” said Bouchard.

The onus is on the resident to request a new tree from the city, rather than the city being already alerted – something Bourelle finds frustrating.

“It's very, very difficult for us to replace those trees,” he said, adding that the tree canopy of Beaconsfield is very important.