Wrong tree cut down

5/09 tahoe mt. news unedited

By Kathryn Reed

Not being elderly or disabled, Billie Jo McAfee is still trying to figure out how her house got on a list for tree removal.
She and her husband returned home on Saturday this spring to find their 30-year-old fir tree cut down and left in chunks in the drainage ditch next to their driveway.
McAfee was told this was part of the Rotary Club’s stewardship day. The California Tahoe Conservancy employee is not seeing this act as good stewardship.
“I was ready to (call) the insurance company because I thought it was vandalism,” McAfee said. “I called the sheriff. They said nothing really happened here, it’s not a crime.”
About 30 properties were part of the Rotarian Work Day, with a handful being CTC lots. Addresses of the private residences were supplied to Rotary from the Nevada Fire Safe Council’s senior wood program. All residents were supposed to be notified about the work day.
McAfee, who said she and her husband should not be on that list, also said they never received a letter or phone call.
South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Lorenzo Gigliotti, who is in this Rotary group, said trees were removed for defensible space reasons and if they were not healthy.
“It was a tree that was half dead and we considered had ladder fuel,” Gigliotti said. “The tree itself would have been a contributor to fire spread.”
McAfee begs to differ.
“It was in perfect health,” she said of the tree. “It sheltered us from noise from the road and across the street. It was a shady spot for the dog.”
The Christmas Valley residents have been offered a sapling to replace the 30-year-old tree that was felled without permission. McAfee said that’s not enough.
“It is still vandalism,” McAfee said.