Seattle needs to replace its power poles more often, investigation finds
Investigators say the city of Seattle needs to replace its electricity poles more often to prevent another collapse.
In April of this year, 26 power poles fell near the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, injuring two people below.
Investigators and wood experts led by Nelson Research already told Seattle City Light the reasons behind the pole collapse: rotting wood, beetle infestation, and wind.
Now, they're issuing recommendations on how to avoid a repeat.
The report says the way the utility ranks the strength of power poles is too lax, and that the city should not wait as long to restore poles and replace rotting ones. It also says to treat them more thoroughly to prevent beetle infestation.
City Light says in a statement that it plans to get to work on the recommendations.
That will keep them busy: 6,000 poles are already marked as not up to standard.
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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