I am an engineer with a power company that serves parts of WV, and I can tell you that getting that much wire back in the air is definitely a miracle. I'd guess the lines in western NC/eastern TN were built the same way they were up here in WV - back in the 60's, when those lines were being built, the engineers designing them never took thought for the future, what it would take to maintain those lines, repair them, or even rebuild them. They literally used mule teams and helicopters and put those lines into some extremely remote and difficult to reach areas. Here in my neck of the woods, we have several lines that cross cliffs - folks who walk the line after a storm to find areas that are broken will come out on a cliff - the line crosses the gully, but there is no way to get across from this direction; one has to go back down down the road and around, and heaven help you if the line crossing the gully itself comes down. We had one section of line that was built on a cliff halfway up the mountain. It was a poor location and prone to damage because of trees falling down the mountain but we could not get a truck or equipment to that section to fix it. A section of a couple of miles that every time there was damage, it was out for hours because a forester had to scale the mountain, tie ropes to trees, and then linemen had to climb the cliff with their tools and their equipment on their back to get to the line to make repairs. It took someone almost getting killed one day trying to fix a break that we were finally able to convince the company big shots to spend the money to move that section of line off the mountain and down to the road and there still other places still on the mountainside that are just as difficult to reach.
This is such an informative comment. I keep coming back to read it again. It’s astounding that more thought wasn’t put into infrastructure planning back in the day. Not just with power lines, but roadways, water systems, everything. We’re paying for it now in WNC. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Observing the damage of Helene has been one of the most sobering and humbling experiences of my adult life, in part because I live in the Ozarks so the realities of what it would be like to be flooded out in the hills hit very close to home. Also in part because of the sick, numb, blasé reaction from the establishment, as well as the general public’s sheer emotional exhaustion at the decade we are living through. Intellectual warfare is spiritual warfare…spiritual warfare is intellectual warfare. Lord, have mercy on us. Very poignant and beautiful piece.
I am an engineer with a power company that serves parts of WV, and I can tell you that getting that much wire back in the air is definitely a miracle. I'd guess the lines in western NC/eastern TN were built the same way they were up here in WV - back in the 60's, when those lines were being built, the engineers designing them never took thought for the future, what it would take to maintain those lines, repair them, or even rebuild them. They literally used mule teams and helicopters and put those lines into some extremely remote and difficult to reach areas. Here in my neck of the woods, we have several lines that cross cliffs - folks who walk the line after a storm to find areas that are broken will come out on a cliff - the line crosses the gully, but there is no way to get across from this direction; one has to go back down down the road and around, and heaven help you if the line crossing the gully itself comes down. We had one section of line that was built on a cliff halfway up the mountain. It was a poor location and prone to damage because of trees falling down the mountain but we could not get a truck or equipment to that section to fix it. A section of a couple of miles that every time there was damage, it was out for hours because a forester had to scale the mountain, tie ropes to trees, and then linemen had to climb the cliff with their tools and their equipment on their back to get to the line to make repairs. It took someone almost getting killed one day trying to fix a break that we were finally able to convince the company big shots to spend the money to move that section of line off the mountain and down to the road and there still other places still on the mountainside that are just as difficult to reach.
This is such an informative comment. I keep coming back to read it again. It’s astounding that more thought wasn’t put into infrastructure planning back in the day. Not just with power lines, but roadways, water systems, everything. We’re paying for it now in WNC. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Ohhhhh MAN!!! Thanks for sharing.
Heart breaking yet heart inspiring at same time.
Bonestired burnout!! Tough sledding mud, dead bodies. 100 poles a day!!! Impressive!
God Speed to full recovery. If that ever happens.
I think it’s gonna be different than it was, when the rebuilding is finally completed. Hopefully in positive ways.
Everyone who didn't feel like a local before this geological event is officially a local now.
It was an initiation for many. For sure.
This is the roost of the Phoenix🧡
Facebook will not let me share this post. Totally sad.
Attempting mind control
Forget what the libtards say. This is America, this is what America is all about.
Observing the damage of Helene has been one of the most sobering and humbling experiences of my adult life, in part because I live in the Ozarks so the realities of what it would be like to be flooded out in the hills hit very close to home. Also in part because of the sick, numb, blasé reaction from the establishment, as well as the general public’s sheer emotional exhaustion at the decade we are living through. Intellectual warfare is spiritual warfare…spiritual warfare is intellectual warfare. Lord, have mercy on us. Very poignant and beautiful piece.
Thank You Starr
This has a potential geological equivalency of the New Madrid Earthquakes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1811%E2%80%931812_New_Madrid_earthquakes