DELTONA, Fla. — A Deltona man said Hurricane Matthew knocked a large tree into power lines in the backyard of his home, and Florida Power and Light still has not removed it.
Michael Blankenship said he’s tried and failed for a month to get FPL to act.
Blankenship said he’s worried he could lose power or someone could get hurt.
“I'm worried that there is either going to be a fire started or with the electricity, somebody could get hurt,” said Blankenship.
Blankenship said he won't let his dogs in the backyard unless they're on a leash because he doesn't want them going near the tree.
“I've stayed away from that back corner of my property because there's debris, but I don’t want to worry about getting shocked,” he said.
His neighbors have also called FPL about the tree.
Each time, Blankenship said they were promised someone would take care of it. But that never happened.
“I reached out to Channel 9 to see if I could get some assistance with it,” he said.
Channel 9 reporter Mike Springer called FPL.
An FPL representative said they would send a crew to take a look.
By 3 p.m., there were FPL workers in the neighborhood.
Blankenship said he’s happy that FPL has finally gone to his home.
FPL said that if a tree falls on a service line that goes from a house to the main line, the homeowner is usually the one responsible for fixing it.
But since the tree is causing the line to sag and it could damage equipment, FPL said crews will handle it.
See photos of the tree below:
Cox Media Group
