NEWMARKET - Aurora resident Karlee Mannella was driving home on Yonge Street in Newmarket last week when a hydro pole seemed to explode right in front of her eyes with a thunderous roar.
She slammed on her brakes, and felt scared as live cable wires fell on the road in a shower of sparks.
“It was nerve-racking,” said Mannella. "It was confusing what happened at first. Luckily, I slammed on the brakes at a good time before the wires hit my car. Everybody behind me did not know what was happening. They were honking. It made me panic a little bit more.”
Emergency crews responded to the area of Yonge Street between Kingston Road and Bonshaw Avenue on July 3 at about 5:30 p.m. as the downed hydro pole shut off power to 900 homes and businesses for several hours.
Mannella put on her hazard lights on and moved to the side of the road so other drivers could get through, who drove over the live wires until emergency responders arrived and closed lanes to traffic. The loss of power, which affected the traffic lights, caused more chaos at the intersection.
She called her family and said she was shaken.
“I was in a panic. I wasn’t making sense of my words,” said Mannella.
After taking in what had happened, she calmed herself down, but the incident brought back distressing memories of a serious collision in which she was involved as a passenger.
“After my first accident, I wasn’t able to get in my car for a month, so now I feel much safer in a car when I’m driving than other people driving,” said Mannella.
NT Power continues to investigate the cause of the downed hydro pole, but states it was most likely related to high winds at the time.
“Weather can never be ruled out as a contributing factor,” said Alex Braletic, vice-president of engineering and operations.
Braletic said high winds throughout the week and rain could have weakened the base of the older wood pole, which had deteriorated. He added the utility company does inspect its poles routinely.
“Pole failure due to age is always a possibility,” said Braletic. “We do complete inspections annually on poles, and poles that are identified to be changed are completed immediately.”
Braletic said the majority of hydro poles are wood but some are made of concrete, specifically on Davis Drive and Yonge Street from Savage Street.
“Wood poles are not as strong as concrete poles and they are more susceptible to insects and weather damage such as wind,” said Braletic. “Concrete poles, while not susceptible to insect damage, are susceptible to frozen and thawing weather.”