Spokane7
65°
July 14, 2011 in City
Power pole fire knocks out power to 6,600
An electrical pole fire about 7:30 this evening in North Central Spokane left about 6,600 Avista customers in the area without power.
About 24 were without power as of 10:00 p.m. According to the Avista website, all power is expected to be back on by about 11 p.m.
Pole fires are not uncommon in this area this time of year, said Debbie Simock, Avista’s communication manager.
“Dust in the air will build up on the conductors and the insulators and the equipment on the pole, and if you get some moisture, like from rain, it acts as a conductor and the pole will spontaneously combust,” she said. “So it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon in the utility industry.”
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RedCedar on July 14 at 8:10 p.m.
Remember, “Who?”, “What?”, “When?”, “Where?, and “Why?” In this case, it might be interesting to know “Why?” the power pole caught fire. This is something they don’t tend to just randomly do from time to time without provocation.
rpmarp on July 14 at 9:17 p.m.
Did you read the last paragraph, RedCedar?
RedCedar on July 15 at 12:03 p.m.
I did now that it’s been added. It was missing from the first posting of the article. I think it’s fascinating that “pole fires are not uncommon”. You learn something new every day!