TEMPLE HILLS, Md. — Residents in one Temple Hills neighborhood are trying to get a dangerous tree entangled on a power line removed but have had no luck.
Storms brought down part of Joseph Campbell's tree two weeks ago. The tree is barely holding on to a power line and a cable line. Since then, it's been dangling on the side of his home and he fears it could fall any second.
“It definitely could kill someone. I don’t know how electricity works. Will it surge from there into the ground? I don’t know. Kids, every morning are here waiting for the bus to pick them up.” Campbell said.
Campbell called PEPCO, who he says told him it's Verizon’s responsibility since the tree is on a cable line. However, when he contacted Verizon they reportedly told him it was PEPCO’s responsibility.
Halfway through our interview, a man in a mask took a chainsaw from the back of his minivan and attempted to cut the tree himself.
“I don’t know who these people are but I was going to get a private contractor because I’m not going to keep waiting for them to come,” Campbell explained.
The homeowner wants the tree removed before the next storm. He’s worried about the tree falling on his home or somebody
“It looks dangerous to me. In terms of electricity and it’s a heavy tree. Either one can cause serious body damage to anyone,” Campbell said.
WUSA9 reached out to Pepco. They said it was Verizon’s responsibility. However, because residents have been dealing with the issue for so long, Pepco said they would send a crew to see if they could get the tree removed Tuesday night.