Healdsburg, CA – On a summer day, a group of Sierra Forestry Consulting (SFC) Vegetation Management Inspectors (VMIs) joined together for quality control training from PG&E in Healdsburg, California.
Sierra Forestry Consulting Vegetation Management Inspectors survey trees in Healdsburg, Calif. on June 12, 2025
Vegetation Management Inspectors are responsible for overseeing vegetation work on power lines.
From maintenance to fire mitigation and emergency response, they are an indispensable part of the crews who keep the power flowing and our communities safe.
VMI Ari Poppers. Sierra Forestry Consulting Vegetation Management Inspectors survey trees in Healdsburg, Calif. on June 12, 2025
IBEW 1245 Business Representative Ray Banfill, a former seasoned Line Clearance Tree Trimmer, (LCTT) stated, “This group of employees walks every power line, and lists any vegetation that is – or soon will be – a threat to the power lines and surrounding facilities. They interact with stakeholders, including line crews, contractors, residents, and first responders.”
VMIs inspect vegetation, prescribe necessary tree work, and play a vital role when it comes to public safety, contractor performance and emergency response.
Becoming a VMI requires extensive training and certification. Many VMI’s are certified, ISA arborists who bring arboricultural experience to the task. In addition, they pursue continuing education to meet the standards set by the companies for which they work.
Four years ago, this group of employees unionized with IBEW 1245.
VMI Evan Wetzel. Sierra Forestry Consulting Vegetation Management Inspectors survey trees in Healdsburg, Calif.on June 12, 2025.
Today, IBEW 1245 represents approximately 1,100 VMI’s through eight contractors, not including in-house MVI’s employed by PG&E directly.
Before joining the Union, VMIs were considered low paying jobs with high turnover rates. “Now that they make a living wage, with retirement benefits, it has become a highly sought-after job. This makes for a more educated employee that is now working in the same area multiple years in a row,” said Banfill.
3-year IBEW 1245 member and VMI Evan Wetzel shared, “We are getting compensated for the dangerous work that we do. It’s definitely seen. I heard what VMIs were making in the past before the Union. And I mean, just for the risk hazards and entering people’s properties. Just that fact alone, there’s a lot of bad stuff that can happen.”
The VMI’s get Quality Control Training from PG&E. Sierra Forestry Consulting Vegetation Management Inspectors survey trees in Healdsburg, Calif. on June 12, 2025.
VMI Ari Poppers detailed the equipment they master to conduct inspections, including Personal Protective Equipment, (PPE), dog spray, a satellite-based G-P-S-S-O-S system, a range finder to gauge distance and a DBH tape to measure tree diameter.
“The Range finder has a feature will give us heights too. That’s how we can tell the height of a tree, because when we input data into the system … The thickness of the tree, basically the diameter of the trunk, and the height of the tree, those are two of the identifying factors. Imagine you’re in a forest with a bunch of oak trees and you’re trying to tell a tree crew to go to a certain tree. If there’s a bunch of similar trees, the DBH, the diameter can be very indicative of which tree you’re talking about. We also mark ’em,” said Poppers.
Hazards notwithstanding, VMI’s report loving their work. “We’re outdoors a lot, so obviously, except for when it’s crazy hot or pouring rain, it’s beautiful to be out in nature and discovering all the various animals and looking at all the beautiful trees and vegetation as we go,” said Poppers.
VMI Evan Wetzel. Sierra Forestry Consulting Vegetation Management Inspectors survey trees in Healdsburg, Calif. on June 12, 2025.
As for being Union, Poppers stated, “I’m a union guy for sure. I think they’re an important part of our society and of our country, and for the people to have support and oversight so that they don’t get taken advantage of. That’s always a good thing.”
Wetzel added, “I think getting paid what you’re worth, what we’re worth in a certain sense is pretty important. And it also makes me very proud. I want to do a really good job, not just for community safety, but I’m getting paid to do a really good job.”
– Eileen Purcell, IBEW 1245 Sr. Advisor; Photos by John Storey