2 Heifers killed due to downed power line
Power goes out for most of Sublette County Wednesday
by Dawn Ballou
October 20, 2005
Rumors have been flying around Pinedale that the cause of yesterday afternoon’s power outage was due to cattle bringing down a power line south of Big Piney.
The rumor got even better today, when the story evolved into two bulls, fighting over a cow, smashed into a power pole, knocking the line down and taking out the electrical power for almost all of Sublette County. In the end, however, neither bull got the cow because the high voltage power line fell down on top of the two bulls, electrocuting them both.
"I’m sorry to have to squelch that story," said Jeff Hymas, spokesperson for Pacific Power. According to Hymas, a power line did come down south of Big Piney and was the cause for Wednesday afternoon’s power failure, but there were no bulls involved. "The line came down mid-span," said Hymas, "and was about 60 feet up." It was unknown whether the two heifers were killed by the falling line or if they walked into the live wire after it fell to the ground. The cause of the line coming down is still under investigation.
"It appears to be related to an equipment failure," said Hymas. There was minimal wind, no snow, and no apparent reason for why the line came down. "There were no bulls in the herd," he said.
Power was out for several hours in Pinedale, Big Piney, Marbleton, Daniel, Cora and Boulder.
Pacific Power is still investigating the cause for the line break. Hymas said there apparently were no animals fighting. "The cows just ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
Bob Rule, Pinedale KPIN 101.1 FM radio, contributed to this story. KPIN 101.1 FM radio broadcast on bull story:
Bull Story (mp3 audio file)
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