November rain created glue that exacerbates power problems with thousands of weeping winter birch trees

The rain came last month and the weeping winter birch trees followed. Soon, perhaps even now, we will stop kidding ourselves about what is “seasonable” in Fairbanks, where no longer is the cold guaranteed.

The November rain turned to ice on millions of insignificant branches. The snow started sticking to significant numbers of birch and aspen trees, which are now bending onto or toward GVEA powerlines by the hundreds or thousands.

The weeping is the worst in areas that are protected from the slight winds out of the east and northeast that we typically see this time of year.

With no hint of wind, the snow remains delicately balanced and the top-heavy trees droop, burdened by snow that has more sticking power.

Even before the November rain there was snow sticking to trees from the first snow of the fall, GVEA says, perhaps because of warmer temperatures and higher humidity?

“We have many reports of trees leaning towards lines, but we are only focused at restoring power right now,” said GVEA spokeswoman Meadow Bailey.

Gold Mine Trail, Gilmore Trail, parts of Goldstream and the Ballaine areas are among the areas that have had the worst of it.

Rick Thoman, an Alaska climate specialist, thinks that we find ourselves in a situation where the old ideas about what constituted a reasonable right-of-way clearing from power lines is no longer accurate. Climate change, witnessed in part with the increased frequency of winter rain in Fairbanks, is creating a new normal.

The cost of dealing with trees that are beyond the GVEA right of way and bending into power lines is impossible to calculate. Dealing with it is one of the main challenges our member-owned utility will face for years to come.

GVEA crews have been extra busy this month with many power outages touched off by birch trees that resemble weeping willows. It’s true that we haven’t had more than a few inches of snow at a time, but the conditions for trouble were established weeks ago.

Some homebound GVEA philosophers have taken to Facebook to complain about the number of power outages, wondering why the power gods continue to fail us.

“This is pretty standard winter weather, and our neighborhood grid is failing with disturbing regularity,” one member said.

The rain last month was not what we think of as “standard winter weather,” but it’s becoming far too common and we have to recognize it. Remember what happened last December?

“Rain-on-snow is projected to increase throughout much of Alaska (including Fairbanks) as the climate continues to get warmer and wetter,” Peter Bieniek, a climate scientist, told columnist Ned Rozell after more than an inch of rain fell a year ago on the day after Christmas.

As I write this Monday morning, the GVEA outage map shows numerous outages in the Fairbanks area, many of them affecting a small number of members. The pattern of power lines in the Fairbanks area, as intricate as the veins and arteries in a living being, means that there are as many potential costly electric problems as there are trees, most of which are beyond the right of way.

“There are currently 12 outages affecting 4,066 members in the areas northwest of Fairbanks: Goldstream Valley, Murphy Dome Road, Farmers Loop and the hills above. The cause is believed to be a tree on a transmission line and crews are working now to locate the fault,” GVEA said Monday morning.

One thing to remember is that it could cost as much to send a GVEA crew to deal with a power outage affecting one member as it does to deal with one affecting 1,000 members and it could take just as much time.

Gary Newman, a member of the GVEA board, said there are plenty of potential problem trees that are outside the right of way. “Regular summer clearing doesn't pinpoint those now snow loaded trees from outside the 30' right of way,” he said.

Whether a single tree outside the right of way should be cut or not is a manageable discussion. Multiply that by 10,000 and you get some idea of what our future may be as GVEA members.

Responding to one member on Facebook, Newman wrote about our new situation.

“What had been unusual winter events have become normalized. I've been here over 50 years and this year have many more rainbow trees on my own driveway and just two days ago, 6 large aspen fell across my driveway - that's never happened before.”

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