That oak removal in Portland taught me to check for power lines twice

Last month I took down a 60 foot oak near Powell Blvd and skimmed a service drop I thought was dead. The homeowner's face went white when the branch brushed it, but luckily no arc. Anyone else had a close call that made you change your pre-climb checklist?

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butler.abby4d ago

I figured dead was dead until I watched a guy I worked with get hit by what he called a dead line in Salem. Turned out it was a phone line sharing a pole with a live one, and his tester was junk. Now I call the utility before every climb, even on small stuff, and I keep a non-contact voltage pen in my pouch. Takes five minutes and it's saved me from at least two bad calls since.

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