North Bay neighbors rally to protect 250-year-old oak tree from being cut down by PG&E

SEBASTOPOL, Calif. (KGO) — Musicians played and sang as a drum beat of opposition was building on Bones Road in Sebastopol. Neighbors prepared to defend an ancient oak tree from a chainsaw.

“This tree we feel is the sentinel of the neighborhood, said Catherine Armer.

Catherine Armer and a dozen of her neighbors surrounded the 80-foot oak early Thursday morning, ready to protect it from a tree crew with orders to remove it.

“Our message is- we’re not looking for a fight, we’re looking for time to explore other options, Armer added.

“My arborist said it was it was 200 years old, maybe 250, said Laurie Meyers.

Which explains a nod to 1776, written on a sign.

MORE: Walnut Creek homeowner fights back against PG&E’s plan to remove trees from her property

PG&E tells ABC7 Eyewitness News, the tree must go.

“Inspection of the tree found evidence of active decay and the tree was determined to be a risk of failure into PG&E’s assets. In order to ensure the reliability and the safety of the public, PG&E must remove or heavily prune the tree.”

The oak sits on Laurie Meyer’s property — her arborist says the tree is heathy.

“I’ve offered to cut more branches off- it’s become a push and shove,” Meyers said.

Neighbors are trying to explore the option of raising funds to reroute the power line away from the tree.

“You could just run it from that pole to that pole and the tree isn’t bothering PG&E lines,” said Mark Barlow.

An email from PG&E informed Laurie Meyers, “We will be arriving on Thursday, 3/26 to complete tree removal, I’m afraid we cannot postpone any longer.”

The hours ticked by and by late afternoon, it was clear to neighbors the tree crew wasn’t coming.

“I’m going to say more than a small victory, because it’s been delightful to be gathered as a neighborhood,” said Armer.

Not every neighbor is convinced.

“PG&E’s concerned it could cause a fire, just look where we are- I’m a little concerned about that,” said one neighbor named Debbie.

PG&E won’t say if and when its tree crew will return to Bones Rd. Laurie is hoping for a miracle.

“It’s a living thing, it has a spirit and it’s alive. I know everyone will miss it if it’s gone,” said Meyers.