Downed Power Line Catches Fire In Haskell

By Dan Bewley, The News On 6

MUSKOGEE COUNTY -- Companies say power outages are the result of a lot of freezing rain weighing down power lines.

A prime example of the dangers of all the winter weather can be found in Haskell.

Flames jumped from a downed power line in the Muskogee County countryside.

"It lit the whole field up," said Tresha Bigelow, a driver.

Tresha Bigelow and Kenneth Graves were the first to hear the fire.

"It scared me to death. I thought I had a blow out on two tires instead of just one because it was loud. I mean it sounded like a bomb going off," said Bigelow.

"That thing popped, went way up that pole. It was twenty foot high, the flames. I thought a car had wrecked, was burning. It scared the heck out of me," said Kenneth Graves, Stone Bluff resident.

A work crew was able to quickly shut the power off before it caused any major damage in the area. Officials say it's a perfect example of what happens when too much ice builds on power lines.

"As you see some of these trees that are leaning over, just imagine if you have ice on there the size of a pop can, that's a lot of weight and you have a lot of slack in those lines and it does cause a lot of tension on it," said Billy Moore, East Central Elect COOP.

It may sound like a broken record but power companies say if you see a downed power line or one covered in trees, your best bet is to stay away because you never know which way that electricity could arc.

"When someone sees something like that, you need to stay away from the lines. You need to call in and report it," said Billy Moore.