Mountain tree cutters are experiencing a banner year as they clear away trees that have been infested by mountain pine beetles.
The town of Frisco, with 2,600 full-time residents and 36,000 second-home owners, has ordered residents to remove infested trees by the end of June or face a fine. Winter Park, with 662 full-time residents and 703 second-home owners, is considering a similar requirement, said Chuck Swanson, Winter Park town engineer.
Local governments in Summit and Grand counties, where the pest is wreaking havoc, also are asking residents to cut down infected trees.
Large areas of the Rocky Mountain West – including thousands of acres of lodgepole pine throughout Grand, Summit and Eagle counties – are experiencing an epidemic outbreak of the beetle, which bores into tree trunks and lays eggs beneath the bark. Once hatched, the larvae kill the tree.
The most common response is thinning the dead trees before the newly hatched crop of bugs takes wing and infects more trees. As a result, tree trimmers say they have seen increases of 30 percent and more in their business this year over last.
“In Summit County, this is the worst year ever” for the beetles, said Thomas “Ruben” Cashler, owner of All West Tree Services in Copper Mountain. His business is running 60 percent above last year, he said.
Brad Hoerter, co-owner of Bighorn Tree Service in Breckenridge, said his business made about $70,000 last year. This year he expects to rake in $100,000.
“The only way to get rid of the beetles is to get rid of the trees they are in. I have been doing this for six years, and this is definitely the best year I have ever seen,” Hoerter said.
Property owners with infested trees can suffer acute sticker shock when they first receive a price quote, said Scott Johnson, owner of 2-year-old Affordable Tree Services in Evergreen. “People look at these quotes, and they go, ‘Oh, my God.”‘
The average bill for a property with 15 ailing or dead trees is about $2,700, Johnson said, but the cost can go far higher. Large trees and those that are difficult to cut without damaging property can cost up to $800 each.
Considering the danger involved in logging, the prices are reasonable, Johnson said. “You are working with live chain saws all the time.”
Logging is the most dangerous trade in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. Loggers recorded 85 fatalities in 2004, a rate of 92.4 deaths for every 100,000 workers, more than 22 times the rate among all workers.
Some residents are hoping to beat the beetles by taking action before their trees are infested.
“I sprayed about 40 trees on one-third of an acre,” said Chuck Gray, who lives near Silverthorne.
Gray did the work himself, but many others are hiring companies such as Preventive Tree Spraying in Silverthorne. Three years ago, Preventive had revenues of about $750,000, said Tom Estes, the company’s president. Last year, revenues were about $1.2 million.
Estes doubled the number of trucks his company can deploy to eight last year, but he isn’t betting his future on the pine beetle. At some point, he said, the beetles will become less of a problem. “I am reluctant to add more trucks.”
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-820-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
