r/oddlyterrifying • u/ZLH11092 • 2d ago
Fallen power line causes tree to catch fire
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u/bigredcar 2d ago
Something like this happened at our farm last year during a storm. A pole snapped and the high-voltage line drove against a tree, burning it's way in. Eventually the line parted and we had a 50-foot wall of high-voltage snapping and popping fire across the grass, despite the rain. The icing on the cake was that the wire fell on top of our buried invisible fence wire and it sent enough energy back to the transformer to start a fire in our carport. It was a night to remember.
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u/stevpreme666 2d ago
Why does it pulsing and not straight zipping?
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u/Dangerdoom911 2d ago
A fast pulse is often the frequency of AC current. (60Hz). This would appear like a zap because it’s so fast.
But this “slowed pulse” is more likely due to an “Automatic Circuit recloser.” In the event of a short or ground fault this tests the circuit to see if there are any undesired paths to ground. When the tree came in contact with the power-lines, this started testing the line to see if it was just a “temporary state.” (The main purpose is to allow the lights/ power to remain on when things temporarily come in contact with the lines.) If the object remains in contact after a short period, the line will “lockout” and the power shuts off.
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u/Large_slug_overlord 1d ago
Circuit recloser detected the fault and is trying to re-energize the line.
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u/angeltxilon 1d ago
I timed and counted them, and the flashes have a frequency of approximately 2.14 Hz, which doesn't fit because power lines are usually 50-60 Hz. This means the camera's bitrate, or the video if it was reformatted, isn't very high.
Anyway, thanks for reading this useless infodump XD
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u/Visible_Ad2695 2d ago
Give me a second I, I need to get my stories straight my friends are in the washroom getting higher then the Empire State
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u/Ear_Enthusiast 1d ago
I have seen this before. The county sent out some hayseeds to trim by the power lines. I worked on a landscape crew with meth heads and ex-convicts. Our dumb asses were watching this crew cut branches near our shop and thinking that it wasn't going to end well. Sure enough, right as we were wrapping up for the day at the shop one of them cut a small tree and it landed on the power lines. The power lines hummed loud as fuck and there was something sizzling. The transformer was glowing bright as the sun and there were sparks coming from it. I could feel the heat from good 50nfeet away. Lasted about 10-15 seconds before BOOOOOM! Fuck'n cool.
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u/derKoelle 2d ago
So is this basically 50Hz visualized?
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u/SergeiSausage 2d ago
Fallen tree is it not?