ATCO out with a reminder to watch for power lines when moving machinery

It was a slow start to harvest in the area this year and Doug Baggett, Operations Supervisor with ATCO says as farmers get working again, they want to remind people about the risks of moving large farm equipment near power lines.

Last year there were 88 farm related power line contacts in our area, and so far this year there have been 57.  Contact with a power line can be fatal.

“The main thing you can do is just look up and know where the powerline is.  We believe that contact with a power line is 100 percent preventable,” said Baggett.  “It’s been a late harvest this year with the weather doing what it is doing, and we just wanted to make sure we reminded people about the risks with moving large farm equipment near power lines.”

Within ATCO’s service area, with farming and construction, they’ve had nearly 600 machines come in contact with power lines this year.