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Sept. 30, 2010
When Natural Disasters Strike, We're Ready
Everyone in the Salt Lake City area is aware of the extraordinary effort by firefighters to protect homes from a major range fire in Herriman recently. Rocky Mountain Power employees also did their part when four power poles were damaged by the fire, causing an outage to 13 customers. Once fire officials said it was safe to access the area, our line crews worked hard to quickly replace the burnt poles and get the lights back on for everyone within the same day.
A Herriman resident, Myrna Warr, expressed her appreciation to firefighters, police and Rocky Mountain Power line employees in a letter to the editor published in the Deseret News.
Also in September, a large brush fire in Evanston, Wyoming destroyed 13 wood poles, and the Twitchell Canyon fire in Richfield, Utah burned 12 poles. Back in July, a large fire in southeast Idaho damaged a whopping 54 poles near the Idaho National Laboratory.
With thousands of power poles across multiple states, we always have to be ready during fire season and year round. And fires aren't the only type of natural disaster that can cause problems. In June, a tornado destroyed six power poles north of Cody, Wyoming. We’ve also dealt with high winds and flooding this summer.
We work hard to avoid outages, but sometimes they're unavoidable when fire or severe weather strikes. When that happens, we work even harder to restore power safely and as quickly as possible. In all of these cases I've mentioned, our line crews did a great job of responding and working through difficult conditions to get the job done right.
Just as we prepare in advance to be ready to respond, it's important for customers to always be prepared for power outages or any type of emergency. With the beginning of cooler fall weather just around the corner, and winter not far off, it’s a good time for a refresher on what you and your family can do to be prepared and stay safe during a power outage.
Clean-up project helps prevent fire damage
Mayor Russ Wall of Taylorsville, Utah recently recognized the efforts of Jordan River advocate Adriaan Boogaard and Rocky Mountain Power in cleaning up about 5 ½ acres of land near the river that likely helped to keep an August grass fire from reaching nearby homes. People have been illegally dumping junk – fence posts, construction material, concrete and landscaping waste, scrap metal, tires – in the area for years. We even found an old refrigerator and part of a washing machine!
Adriaan organized volunteers from the Gateway Academy and Boy Scouts to assist with the clean up in April. Rocky Mountain Power paid Salt Lake County to deliver two large dumpsters, and both were filled completely. The volunteers also filled up the back of a pickup truck with scrap metal that Adriaan hauled off to be recycled.
Afterward, we had a contract crew come in with heavy equipment to remove larger debris. Top soil was also hauled in to fill low spots. We’ve mowed the high weeds and grass, sprayed for noxious weeds several times, and removed undesirable species of trees. Adriaan tells me that Rocky Mountain Power employee John Noorda and contractor Hal Newton went above and beyond to do a great job.
These efforts helped limit fuel sources for the August fire and rid the property of obstacles that might have impeded the work of firefighters in keeping the flames at bay. It’s great to be able to partner with people in the communities we serve and work together to make a positive difference!
- Jeff
