Crews bring in chopper for compromised trees after recent California storms

SACRAMENTO – It takes a team to take down the old cedars, some centuries old, before they topple after the recent storms.

On Tuesday morning, Bill Burley and his team got ready to climb two Deodar cedar trees at Oddfellows Cemetery.

The trees, deemed dangerous after recent storms, stood around 100 feet tall and 70 feet wide.

Access was extremely limited due to power lines above and historical gravesites below.

"You don't want to damage those. Some are from the early 1800s," Burley said.

To make it all happen, streets were closed and lines de-energized.

Then it's time, training and teamwork.  

"We have the helicopter team that will actually be doing the lift," said Scott Godfrey with Brightview Tree Care Services.

Each limb was marked and roped off before was cut. It could not weigh more than 1,700 pounds.

"There's not many people in the world that do helicopter removals," Burley said.

With a camera mounted to his helmet for training purposes and safety strapping on and around hi, Burley cut limbs loose. Another crew on the ground was chipping the wood. 

The process went on for hours as neighbors watched in wonder.

"This is not something we do every day. That's why we brought in the pros to do this," Godfrey said.

In the end, only the tree trunk was left to be taken down later by hand. 

The price tag: More than $100,000 for both.

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• Sacramento