pjargon
@bellsouth.ne
| reply to Splitpair
Re: [General] Some Wilma Shots
Andrew had a very small radius of maximum winds. Sure, it was a cat 5, but if you were just a little outside of the worst of the eyewall, you got a cat 4, 3, 2, or 1 - maybe even a tropical storm.
Wilma, on the other hand, had a very large radius of maximum winds bringing category 2 (that's gusts well over 100 mph) to a large area.
Also, a lot of damage "from wind alone" could actually have been assisted by large windblown debris. |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
 ·T-Mobile US
3 edits | reply to Rob
said by Rob  :So then if you have to do service work on the line, do you have to call FPL out there just incase something goes wrong? No you follow a laundry list of safety and inspection practices with the thought in the back of your mind that missing or over looking any one of them could be deadly.
I love working outside it is a great job but it is a job that requires you to be aware of what is above below and around you at all times as we are sometimes inches from power and an even more dangerous factor the road. 
Wayne
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
 ·Comcast
| reply to Splitpair
said by Splitpair :said by Rob :Kinda of OT but, in the areas that BellSouth has their lines above ground, do they use the same poles with FPL? Yes. Wayne So then if you have to do service work on the line, do you have to call FPL out there just incase something goes wrong?
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
| reply to Rob
said by Rob :Kinda of OT but, in the areas that BellSouth has their lines above ground, do they use the same poles with FPL? Yes.
Wayne
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If you can't fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
| reply to Splitpair
said by Splitpair :said by ackman :Um, "Hurricane"... nuff said. Na I was involved in Andrew and the damage was what one would expect from that intense of a storm. With Wilma the damage was IMHO way beyond what should have happened. In my area many poles failed as does our power in 40 mph winds way before the storm was actually here. Wayne Kinda of OT but, in the areas that BellSouth has their lines above ground, do they use the same poles with FPL?
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
| reply to ackman
said by ackman :Um, "Hurricane"... nuff said. Na I was involved in Andrew and the damage was what one would expect from that intense of a storm. With Wilma the damage was IMHO way beyond what should have happened. In my area many poles failed as does our power in 40 mph winds way before the storm was actually here.
Wayne
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If you can't fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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ackman
join:2000-10-04
Acworth, GA
| reply to Rob
said by Rob :said by ackman :said by Rob :FPL's failure to properly maintain their wood poles have caused many residents to be without power. I hope they get slammed with some hefty fees. That's the most ridiculous and uninformed statement I've ever read. I experienced Hurricane Andrew back in 1992, and all of our healthy and good condition power poles snapped like toothpicks in my neighborhood's back yards with the winds that hit us in Cutler Ridge, just north of Homestead. Bear in mind that the wires being held up by these poles are extremely heavy, so there's not much chance that they would stand up too long under a 100mph wind onslaught. I have to give props to the boys from Georgia Power, who came down to help with reconstruction. They had our new poles up and electricity turned on just 3 weeks after the storm. It was absolutely amazing and we were grateful for their efforts. Andrew: Cat5 Wilma: Cat1-2 Nuff said. Um, "Hurricane"... nuff said. |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
| reply to ackman
said by ackman :said by Rob :FPL's failure to properly maintain their wood poles have caused many residents to be without power. I hope they get slammed with some hefty fees. That's the most ridiculous and uninformed statement I've ever read. I experienced Hurricane Andrew back in 1992, and all of our healthy and good condition power poles snapped like toothpicks in my neighborhood's back yards with the winds that hit us in Cutler Ridge, just north of Homestead. Bear in mind that the wires being held up by these poles are extremely heavy, so there's not much chance that they would stand up too long under a 100mph wind onslaught. I have to give props to the boys from Georgia Power, who came down to help with reconstruction. They had our new poles up and electricity turned on just 3 weeks after the storm. It was absolutely amazing and we were grateful for their efforts. Andrew: Cat5
Wilma: Cat1-2
Nuff said.
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Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL | reply to ackman
Andrew was a Cat 5 in South Dade. They are saying Wilma's sustained winds barely hit Cat 2. That's a huge difference. The poles are supposed to be able to withstand 118+ sustained winds according to FP&L. |
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ackman
join:2000-10-04
Acworth, GA
| reply to Rob
said by Rob :FPL's failure to properly maintain their wood poles have caused many residents to be without power. I hope they get slammed with some hefty fees. That's the most ridiculous and uninformed statement I've ever read. I experienced Hurricane Andrew back in 1992, and all of our healthy and good condition power poles snapped like toothpicks in my neighborhood's back yards with the winds that hit us in Cutler Ridge, just north of Homestead. Bear in mind that the wires being held up by these poles are extremely heavy, so there's not much chance that they would stand up too long under a 100mph wind onslaught. I have to give props to the boys from Georgia Power, who came down to help with reconstruction. They had our new poles up and electricity turned on just 3 weeks after the storm. It was absolutely amazing and we were grateful for their efforts. |
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bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here | reply to TipRing2
Everyone's done some variant of that. Usually involving a mid-span clamp though.
I couldn't stomach working in St. Bernard after Katrina. The smell was just too awful in some places. The dust and such burned up my sinuses. |
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TipRing2
join:2001-10-22
New Orleans, LA
| reply to LightSpan
Car on roof | 
Cell site | 
Kitchen |
I remember back in my "rookie" days I was replacing a drop from a pole in someone's back yard. I was on my hooks and ready to cut the old drop. I thought the pole was leaning toward the house. It turns out the the drop was pulling the pole towards the house. When I cut it I went on the wildest ride of my life. It went from a 7 to 10 degree lean towards the house to a 7 - 10 degree lean away from the house. The only reason it didn't go all the way down was the power drop. |
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RJ44
join:2001-10-19
Nashville, TN
| reply to LightSpan
said by LightSpan :Before i used to climb i would take my long straight blade screw and jab the pole below ground level,and if it went all the way down to the handle thats bad,but i use to climb it anyway cause you couldnt get a ladder to it,or a bucket truck. ::shaking my head:: Bad move, very bad. I always took the safety motto very literally, ain't nothing getting me up a rotten pole on hooks, sorry. There's always some other way to get the job done that doesn't involve you ending up in the ER. |
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LightSpan
Premium
join:2004-02-18
Lexington, KY
| reply to Rob
I have seen it first hand,all the poles i used to have to climb(one of the few who did:D).Shell rot was terrible on most of the poles.Most of the pole's look okay but are rotten below the ground,as in the pics Splitpair showed.Before i used to climb i would take my long straight blade screw and jab the pole below ground level,and if it went all the way down to the handle thats bad,but i use to climb it anyway cause you couldnt get a ladder to it,or a bucket truck.Remember those days in the ranches Wanye:D. |
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Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL
| reply to mikes60
Forget the woman. What about the other person in that article who said that a tree has been growing out of a pole and they've been reporting it for 3 years? Or the contractors FP&L hired to remove the downed polls that said they were some of the most rotten polls they have ever seen? There were several more examples, but you get the point. |
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bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here | reply to Splitpair
Re: Poles 101
I have a picture of what's left of a CO out in Lake Catherine, La. It's completely gone except for the support beams.
I have some pics of the storm damage in the New Orleans area but haven't gotten around to uploading them. |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
| reply to mikes60
A failed defective pole that was supporting a transformer. | 
How a good pole should fail when over stressed. | 
More like a tornado than a hurricane |
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lazsheriff
Laz
join:2005-01-03
Fort Lauderdale, FL
| reply to Splitpair
Re: [General] Some Wilma Shots
I first hand believe FPL has not inspected their wooden poles. My neighborhood is filled with old rotten wooden poles that always get knocked down and not necessarily in the strongest of winds.
A couple of tropical storms ago a wooden pole on my lawn fell onto my driveway, not during the winds but about 4 days later causing my block to go without power for 2 days and me without power for about 2 weeks. The replacement pole looks it was picked up on the street on the way here.
I agree that politicians and newspapers aren't always credible but CEO's aren't any better.
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
| reply to mikes60
said by mikes60 : And I'm sure you have all the proper documentation of their failure. No but I have seen it.
The picture of a concrete pole broken in half shows how powerful the winds actually were.
Not when it was pulled over by a defective wood pole supporting a transformer bank.
This is the base of a failed pole that was supporting 235 Kv transmission lines. Nice eh?
Wayne
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If you can't fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
| reply to mikes60
said by mikes60 :said by Rob :said by mikes60 :said by Rob :FPL's failure to properly maintain their wood poles have caused many residents to be without power. I hope they get slammed with some hefty fees. And I'm sure you have all the proper documentation of their failure. Besides what one woman "claimed" in a Sun-Sentinal article I aw today. The picture of a concrete pole broken in half shows how powerful the winds actually were. Well not a woman. But a man... » www.sun-sentinel.com/news/column···news-colIf it's true, then my comment stands. In your original comment, you failed to say, " if it's true"I have one personal rule- never assume newspaper columnists and politicians are telling the story accurately. One has to sell papers, the other has to get re-elected. Not exactly the best reason for unbiased comments. By the way, here's the one from a woman:» www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/···eadlines Whether I said "if it's true" or not, means nothing.
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