TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY ARES MEMBERS (OFFICIAL)
ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM ARRL DISTRICT 3 EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INC.
WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 17.18 DATE: April 30, 2017
SUBJECT: TIME FOR DOWN POWER LINES
This is one time of the year to have major power outages. Even though winter is over, doesn't mean that power outages are too. The rains from springs storms can make the ground very soft. The roots of trees are easily pulled out of the ground if there is any very hard wind. It may not take a hard wind to cause trees to fall over. When the roots are pulled out of the ground the trees can fall over easily. It seems like the trees just happen to fall into power lines.
If you happen to have a fallen tree into a power line don't try to remove it unless you know for sure it caused a power outage. Just because the power is off doesn't mean the power company doesn't know about it. Some one may have called them and they may be on their way. If they haven't gotten an reports of a tree or a power line down, they may first try to re-energize the line. If you are trying to remove the tree, you may get a shock of your life.
If you happen to find a tree that has fallen into the power lines, let the power company know so they don't try to energize the line until the tree has been removed. If you are not experienced in removing fallen trees, it best to just leave it alone, and tell the power company where it is. Once the tree has been removed they will try to restore the power.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
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