A farmer near Riceton, Sask., walked away uninjured earlier this week when his seeding rig toppled a major SaskPower transmission tower.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed the twisted tower leaning precariously overtop the quadtrac tractor.
Scott McGregor, a spokesman for SaskPower, said the accident occurred about 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“We’re very happy the farmer knew exactly what to do, which is to remain in the vehicle and call us,” said McGregor. “The important thing is that nobody was injured.”
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Reports on social media said it took several hours for the operator to eventually be removed from the cab. McGregor said the tractor operator would have been receiving instructions from SaskPower staff trained to deal with these situations, via cell phone.
Riceton fire chief Rod Lewis, whose crews did not respond to the incident, described the driver as a middle-aged man, a neighbour, while also expressing relief he escaped unhurt.
McGregor said the damaged structure is part of a 230 kilovolt transmission line coming off the Boundary Dam in southeast Saskatchewan. Transmission lines are like the “highways” in the power grid, they move power between the cities where distribution lines pick it up and deliver it to our homes.
As s result, no power outages were associated with this incident.
McGregor says a temporary structure should be in place next week, and repair or replacement will happen shortly after that.
More than 300 incidents of farm machinery contacting overhead power lines happen each year in Saskatchewan according to SaskPower’s “Look up and live” webpage, which also contains tips for how to avoid these incidents, and what to do if avoidance fails.
