City tree branch falls, knocks out power to Sacramento home. Who's responsible to fix it?
A Sacramento homeowner has been left powerless for nearly a week after a city tree knocked out a power line that energizes the historic midtown home. What isn't clear is who is responsible.
The tree branch fell on the power line last Friday, but the housemates were gone for the holiday weekend and were not notified by SMUD via email or text that the power was out. When they returned to the home on Monday, it was 72 hours after the incident.
"We open the door smells like an episode of 'The Walking Dead' in there. It's absolute disaster. The smell is unspeakably bad." said Korben Boaz, the homeowner.
He said the information left on a note hung on the door provided four phone numbers and a name to contact, but when he went to call, only two of the numbers worked, and took him to automated recordings.
He told CBS Sacramento the last few days have been spent trying to track down the right department for the fix. He even went to the City of Sacramento Clerk's Office, hoping for clarity, but left with a claim form that was specific to damage caused by the city, not specific to the power outage.
"This is the City of Trees; this must happen all the time, this is not a unique scenario," said Boaz.
On Thursday afternoon, the power at the home the final steps of turning the power back on were contingent on a city inspection and approval for SMUD to complete the job.
In waiting for a response from the city, Boaz hired a private electrician to fix the equipment, with the hopes his power would be on before the weekend. Instead, he's out $7,500 and has been sent to three different departments within the city for a solution.
CBS Sacramento contacted the city about the incident, asking about responsibility for fixing the power line, since the tree belonged to the city.
In a statement response, a spokesperson for the city told CBS13 that if there is an issue, 3-1-1 is the quickest way to get a response. Boaz said he has contacted the city service multiple times and has not gotten a response.
A city spokesperson said the City's Urban Forestry section of Public Works is responsible for cleanup and maintenance of street trees in the public right-of-way and trees located on city property. However, property owners are responsible for hiring a contractor to repair their private power connection, including work to the power box. Once the work is done, an inspection with the City's Building Division must be completed and only then can SMUD restore power.
After our questions, the city provided the claim form to CBS13 for reimbursements in situations where property has been damaged by a city tree.
However, unanswered for Boaz and CBS13 is who is responsible for the costs of the power line.
A spokesperson for SMUD told CBS13 that because the homeowner was not home, they left the note with phone numbers to outline next steps, which they say was hiring an electrician to fix their equipment. However, because it was a city tree that fell on the power line, the SMUD spokesperson said that could shift the burden of the cost to be worked out between the homeowner and the city.
A city spokesperson, however, said the cost burden was between SMUD and the homeowner's insurance to file a claim about the power outage.
The back-and-forth, mixed with a lack of clarity, has this Sacramento homeowner hoping his situation could be a lesson for other homeowners who don't have the time and resources to track down the answers for a fix.