What to do if you encounter a downed power line

A fallen power line can look harmless, especially when there are no sparks, flames, or sounds. It may still be energized and capable of causing severe injury or death. Electricity can travel through the ground, water, fences, vehicles, tree branches, and other conductive materials near the wire.

Treat every fallen, sagging, or damaged electrical line as live. Keep yourself, children, pets, and other bystanders far away while contacting emergency services and the electric utility. A cautious response can prevent a roadside hazard, storm-damaged tree, or vehicle crash from becoming a second emergency.

The same basic steps apply on roads, near homes, around businesses, and in public spaces throughout Lawrence Township. Knowing what to do before an incident occurs makes it easier to act calmly and communicate useful information to dispatchers.

Assume every fallen wire is energized

Never touch a downed line, the pole supporting it, or anything that may be touching it. Do not move the wire with a stick, broom, branch, shovel, or other object. Dry-looking materials may conduct electricity, and a person standing nearby can become part of the electrical path.

Stay at least 35 feet away as a general minimum, and move farther back if the line is sparking, arcing, tangled in trees, lying in water, or difficult to judge. Keep people and animals behind a solid barrier when possible. Do not step over a wire or walk close to it to take a photograph.

Electricity can spread through wet soil and puddles. Avoid metal fences, guardrails, gates, vehicles, downspouts, and other objects connected to the ground near the line. If you are already close to the hazard, shuffle away with small steps while keeping your feet together. Do not take normal strides, because different voltages between your feet can cause a dangerous shock.

Call for emergency help and report the hazard

Call 911 when a power line is down in a roadway, on a structure, near people, involved in a crash, producing sparks or smoke, or creating an immediate threat. Tell the dispatcher the exact location, nearby street names, landmarks, and whether anyone is injured or trapped. Report visible fire, a damaged pole, blocked traffic, or a line in contact with a building.

After contacting 911 when appropriate, notify the electric utility through its outage or emergency reporting number. Use the number on your utility bill, the provider’s official website, or an established utility app. Do not assume someone else has made the report, even if a crew, police officer, or neighbor appears to be approaching.

Remain in a safe place where you can direct responders without moving toward the wire. If conditions change, call back with updated information. Avoid posting an unverified incident location on social media in place of an emergency report; dispatchers and utility crews need a direct, reliable notification.

Protect your home and property from electrical danger

If a line has fallen on or near your house, garage, shed, fence, or other structure, keep everyone away from the affected area. Do not enter a building if the line is touching it or if there is smoke, fire, a burning smell, or visible electrical damage. Call 911 from a safe location and wait for qualified responders.

If the danger is outside and there is no immediate threat inside your home, stay indoors with windows and doors closed until officials or the utility provide instructions. Keep children and pets away from porches, yards, driveways, and trees near the line. Do not use a generator, ladder, hose, chainsaw, or other equipment near damaged electrical infrastructure.

Electrical work, service changes, and construction near a structure should be handled through the proper permits and qualified professionals. Property owners planning repairs after storm damage can review building permit guidance before beginning work. A permit process does not replace emergency reporting, but it can help ensure later repairs are reviewed appropriately.

Know what to do if a vehicle is involved

A vehicle that contacts a power line can become energized. If you are inside and there is no fire or other immediate danger, stay in the vehicle, warn others not to approach, and call 911. Roll down a window only if needed to communicate, and wait for emergency personnel to confirm that it is safe to exit.

If smoke, fire, or another life-threatening condition makes leaving unavoidable, do not step out normally. Open the door, keep your body from touching the vehicle and ground at the same time, and jump clear with both feet together. Once you land, shuffle or hop away while keeping your feet together. Do not return to the vehicle or touch anyone who remains inside.

Bystanders should stay well back. They must not open a door, attach a tow strap, push the vehicle, or help someone climb out unless directed by trained responders. A person approaching the vehicle can be shocked through the car or the ground.

Recognize hazards after storms and outages

High winds, ice, heavy snow, flooding, and falling trees can damage poles and overhead lines. A line may be hidden beneath branches, leaves, standing water, or debris. A power outage can also affect traffic signals, street lighting, pumps, communications equipment, and electrically operated doors.

Treat an intersection with a dark traffic signal as an uncontrolled intersection unless police or other authorized personnel are directing traffic. Slow down, look in every direction, and give priority carefully. Do not drive around barricades or enter a road blocked by emergency crews.

Storm cleanup creates additional risks. Chainsaws, ladders, metal tools, and wet tree limbs should stay away from overhead conductors. Never assume the utility has disconnected a line because the neighborhood is without power. A backup generator, solar system, or another power source can also create hazards if it is improperly connected.

Residents can help reduce confusion by keeping address numbers visible, reporting blocked roads, and following official instructions. Community information about recycling, leaf pickup, emergency services, and other township operations may be useful for routine needs, but a downed electrical wire requires immediate contact with 911 or the electric utility.

Prevent secondary risks around the community

Keep a wide perimeter around a damaged line until utility workers or emergency responders declare the area safe. Ask children to stay indoors and secure pets. If neighbors cannot see the danger from their approach, warn them from a safe distance or ask an official to control access.

Do not combine electrical hazard response with unrelated cleanup. Moving a fallen branch, clearing a driveway, pumping water, or checking a nearby outbuilding can wait until the line has been assessed. If a line is near a well, pump, stream, or drainage area, avoid contact with water and equipment in the affected zone. The township’s wellhead protection program provides useful background on protecting local groundwater resources, though emergency electrical safety must come first.

Local history and community records help explain how roads, neighborhoods, and public facilities have developed, but age or familiarity does not make a utility line safe. Even an older rural route or a location residents know well should be treated with the same caution as a busy street. The township’s account of one-room schoolhouses illustrates the value of local knowledge, while current hazards still require current emergency procedures.

Practical steps to remember

• Stop, look, and keep away from any fallen, low-hanging, or damaged line.
• Keep at least 35 feet away, and move farther back around water, fire, trees, or tangled wires.
• Call 911 for immediate danger, injuries, blocked roads, fire, or a line contacting a vehicle or structure.
• Report the outage or damaged equipment directly to the electric utility.
• Warn children, pets, neighbors, and drivers without approaching the hazard.

A downed power line is an emergency even when the electricity appears to be off. Move away, keep others back, provide dispatchers with a precise location, and wait for trained responders and utility personnel. Save emergency contacts in an accessible place and share these steps with your household before the next storm or roadside incident.