Power lines burn through CC utility pole
Charles City Police and Fire Fighters going with Mid-American officials to check on the broken power line pole that had been burnt through earlier. Press Photo By Thomas Nelson
Charles City Police and Fire Fighters to the broken power line pole that had been burnt through. Press Photo By Thomas Nelson
Charles City Police and Fire Fighters cordoning off E Street where a broken power line pole that had been burnt through. Press Photo By Thomas Nelson
E Street between 9th Avenue and 8th Avenue where a power line pole had been burnt through. Press Photo By Thomas Nelson.
A power line pole had been burnt through on E Street between 9th Avenue and 8th Avenue. Press Photo By Thomas Nelson.
By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com
Power lines burned through a utility pole on E Street in Charles City on a cold Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4.
At 2:47 p.m. Saturday, a call alerted Charles City police and firefighters to a burning pole between 8th and 9th Avenues on E Street.
“The pole burned off below the primary, and it’s just hanging there now,” firefighter Darren Uetz said.
A fuse was blown and the surrounding neighborhood lost power. Several Charles City businesses had their power go off briefly.
The whole street was cordoned off while police and firefighters waited for Mid-American to come.
The whole time, the top of the pole was still smoldering with pockets of flames emanating from the charred dtop.
The resulting fire and loss of power brought several Charles City citizens out of their homes to see what had happened.
At 3:22 p.m. Mid-American came to switch power back, 35 minutes after the police and firefighters were called, to the surrounding neighborhood.
The pole was burned through because the equipment malfunctioned and the circuit was knocked out, said Kelly Miller, Mid-American worker. The post insulator didn’t do its job.
This isn’t the first time a power line has caught fire in Charles City. Power lines have before heated up and burned the attached pole, Uetz said, but never enough to burn through the pole.
–20170204
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