Crews' Courage
Stamina and Skill
Restore Service
When the lnd begin to howl
or fr!ng rain to fll. the pow
company ltn news and the
puwrr auj'thrt and service
ujt t alert thcmwlvee for
UuuMo call.
Somctimt-s It's big trouble, for
when It turm m-an. the weather
It relentleaa f of electric
utility M-rvict facilities.
Like a mllltiry force, the
maintenance and rontructlon
crew of rcl-
flc Power
Light Company
must be al
- ready for
a audden at
tack along the
weather front
Every veteran
lineman of the company can tell
tales of nights and dayt epent
repairing transmission and dis
tribution line knocked out of
amice by vudden blows from
a storm.
Ice l.i the worst foe. Wind la
the next. Lightning and floods
bring their share of troubles.
Kvcn a gentle rain breaking the
long late summer coating of dust
on Insulators and making them
conductors instead, can trigger
short circuiting of lines and keep
crews working all night
Serious Storms Fait
At times during the 50-year
history of Pacific Power Light
Company storm damage has
been almost catastrophic, and
the task of restoring electric ser
vice seemingly super h u m a n.
But out into the storms have
gone the line crews, fighting not
only the damage, but the con
tinuing hazard of the storm.
Such a storm was the now his
toric "ice storm" of Oregon's
mid-Willamette Valley In 1832.
More than 100 miles of trans
mission line was knocked out of
service. Ice built up on lines un
til they were three Inches thick,
were ripped from Insulators and
fell to the ground. The freezing
held them to the surface, as the
cold continued, and the lines
couldn't me restrung.
Instead of a repair Job It be
came a construction Job. But
what a Job! Before the linemen
could climb the poles they had
to chip away the ice with ham
mers and axes. One crew worked
m days straight, 10 hours a day.
Freak wind storms have caus
ed damage that practically
wiped out electric service over
largo ureas. One in Walla Walla
In the 1930's left several streets
a tangle of toppled poles and
wires.
Wires Sagged
In the early days, winds In
the Yakima valley sometimes
stretched the soft-drawn alumi
num wire, used in early high
voltage transmission lines, until
it sagged so low between the
poles It almost touched the
ground.
The gale-like blizzards that
can sweep Wyoming and Mon
tana are no joy to linemen in
those states when wires are
down.
Improved construction and
better materials have lessened
possibilities of storm outages,
but the line crews can never
conclude that the battle with
the weather is over. Their trucks,
mnterinls And varied specialized
equipment are always geared for
trouble at a moment's notice in
order that Pacific Power's cus
tomers will be inconvenienced
as little as possible.
Floods were a frequent prob
lem in Oregon's Willamette Val
ley in the early years. Many a
lineman was also a good oars
man. And mounting a pole from
a boat, especially if the current
were swift and the top of the
pole swaying in an eight-foot
circle, was a supreme test of a
lineman's climbing skill.
Floods and Ice also gave trou
ble In the early days to small
hydroelectric generating plants.
Sometimes there was not enough
water left flowing in the winter
to turn the turbines.
Pacific Tower's battle with
the weather to keep power flow
ing to its customers has often
been at the point of high drama.
At other times it has been for
the line crews just steady, hard,
exhausting toil. But the result
has been a tradition for service
despite obstacles that few com
panies can equal on any com
parison. Such was the credo of a young
meterman, drafted during a
storm emergency to track down
started out In a truck, but the
truck stalled in the snow. He
hiked through drifts to a farm
house and talked the farmer Into
letting him borrow a horse. The
horse didn't like it, but the me
terman forced him into drifts
until he was tired of rebelling
then rode him bareback for
miles up the line until he found
the source of trouble.
In Granddad's Day A "Dynamo" Did It.
Today Power Giants Like This
Help You Live Better Electrically!
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At
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.Sinwnniri.iii.i win'' i ium&.A-- d.u,. m i auiI Rivar In southwestern Washington.
World's highest earth-fill dam is part of PPlL's newest and largest nyaroeiecinc pianr, me UW.n.w.ii r,vJBv. v
PP&L Marks 50 Years of Public Service!
During the past half-century, the electric switch has become the symbol of better living for thousands of
customers served by Pacific Power & Light. Thanks to the efforts of hard-working "power pioneers," these
50 years have seen the light bulb of 1910 become today's all-electric home, with all it means to you in com
fort and convenience.
Because of the big value and many benefits of electric service, use of dependable PP&L electricity has in
creased rapidly. In the past ten years alone, use of electricity in Pacific Powerland has more than doubled.
And today, just as throughout the past 50 years, PP&L continues to push ahead-developing new hydro
electric sites, exploring Northwest coal deposits as potential fuel for power, researching the possibilities for
atomic power-to assure you plenty of dependable electricity for your better living in the years to come.
EACIFIO POWER & LIG-HT
T 1