MOUNT CHARLESTON (KTNV) — Many people living on Mount Charleston are outraged after they say NV Energy cut down some trees.
Neighbors claim the company had told them in a town hall meeting a few weeks ago, that there were no plans to remove tress and if there were plans, they would be notified first.
Several residents contacted 13 Action News on Sunday morning and sent photos showing NV Energy crews cutting down trees near Kyle Canyon Road.
Katie Johnson and her husband Jimmy Alderson are longtime residents of Mount Charleston.
"Just cutting down trees without telling anyone really upsets people," Jonson says.
"Residents are up in arms because they saw a whole troop of trucks out here today getting ready to cut down some trees, some old grown trees. They feel like they've been lied to," Alderson says.
They tell 13 Action News they had no clue the company would be in the area.
Johnson says the “pristine forest area” keeps losing many trees because some are near the power lines.
The couple admits a few weeks ago, NV Energy told them during a town hall meeting that some trees pose a threat to a wildfire, especially during the summer months.
"We were under the impression that if they were to cut trees that everyone would be notified," Johnson says they were told by an NV Energy representative that they would be informed first.
"I understand NV Energy needs to maintain their lines. I think that's a good idea, but I wish they've communicated with us that they were about to that," Alderson says.
The couple guesses that the company plans to chop down more trees which some are on private properties.
"We infer that because every number is different. The highest number we've seen is 200," Alderson says.
Several trees across the mountain have a number sprayed painted on the trunk, Johnson and Alderson assume "they're slated for removal."
“They haven't been communicative with anyone. It's been so hard to get straight answers," Johnson says.
13 Action News reached out to NV Energy for an explanation early Sunday morning, a spokesperson says they’re looking into what happened.
In the meantime, residents say they "just want answers."
"They have not been communicative at all," Johnson says.
