On Saturday February 18th, a reader submitted a photograph of a fallen tree and downed wires on Ferguson Road in Armour Township. The photo shows that the road was blocked.
Photo Courtesy: David & Shannon Burns
After we posted the photo on social media, we received some comments that we found concerning.
Tara: That tree has been leaning precariously for at least a month.
Dale: Been waiting for that one to finally fall. Can’t remember how many weeks the tree has been hanging on the wire.
Darren: Surprised that it took this long lol…..seen the same trees either ready to fall or leaning on the wires ever since early spring if not last winter.
Our question: Why are damaged trees that pose a public safety hazard left for such long periods of time? We contacted Armour Township to inquire about what the protocol is for situations such as these and were told that Bell and Lakeland networks are responsible for downed lines and broken telephone posts. Additionally, if the damage is on privately owned property it would be the responsibility of the owner to deal with the appropriate utility owner directly.
We received this statement from Armour Township:
“When notified of potential or actual issues such as downed lines our normal response is to assess the situation for public safety and take the appropriate steps (such as road closure) if required. The owner of the utilities are notified of the problem ASAP and then it remains their responsibility to conduct repairs as required. Hydro One is very quick to respond but I cannot say the say (“same” sic) for Bell as they were notified about this tree for some time ago now but have taken no action to prevent what has now happened. I find this surprising that with the number of Bell service vehicles in the area that transit that road on a fairly regular basis.
Bell was notified by myself on Monday and was told the earliest they could send a technician would be today, Tuesday. I stressed to them that this involved a fiber optic line that was laying on the roadway and needed to be repaired immediately to avoid further damage to the line or a disruption of service.
The line does not pose any danger for the public but has been marked off with pylons until such time as Bell makes the repair.”
Keith McCoy, Township of Armour
After receiving this response, we contacted Bell’s media relations department and received this response:
“Our repair team was on site yesterday (February 20th) to remove part of the tree and secure the wires. We are working with partners including local utilities and road crews to coordinate installation of a new pole. We expect to complete the repair work later this week.”
Patricia Garcia
Manager, Public Affairs
While researching this story, we came across two trees on Three Mile Lake Road in Katrine that are also leaning on wires. It’s unclear whether the lines belong to Bell or Lakeland Power, but our photographs have been forwarded to Bell and they are looking into it.
