Tree crews working for DTE Energy are moving street by street through Grosse Pointe Woods, the other Grosse Pointe communities and Detroit’s east side this fall. As of Nov. 9, the utility had finished 56 of the 80 miles it planned to trim there, with the rest expected by the end of the year, WDIV reported.
For homeowners with big trees near the lines, the work comes with a simple code painted on the bark. Two white dots mean DTE thinks the tree may have to go. A white “X” means the removal permit has been signed and the tree is ready to come down.
Why DTE Picked the Grosse Pointes
The neighborhoods on the list have a long record of losing power. Mark Sobieralski, who lives in Grosse Pointe Woods, told WDIV his home goes dark about five or six times a year, and he blames trees on neighboring properties. He said the outages happen so often that “it’s not even funny.”
Cathy Garant, another resident, remembered one outage that lasted four or five days. She has had trees trimmed on her own because she worries about losing power again or having a limb come down on the house, and she told the station the trees have to be trimmed…