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Seattle City Light finds another shocking light pole

Bird perching on an apparently non-electrified Seattle streetlight 5/9/09
sea turtle
/
flickr.com
Bird perching on an apparently non-electrified Seattle streetlight 5/9/09

Seattle City Light has found another electrified streetlight pole. It was a new pole, which had been installed in January. A dog detected the voltage when it sniffed the pole and its owner called it in. City Light says the streetlight had been improperly installed and had frayed wires.

As a precaution, the utility is inspecting about 60 streetlight poles that were damaged and replaced in the past year. Many of those poles weren’t in place when City Light did comprehensive voltage testing last December and January.

If you suspect voltage at any metal streetlight pole or associated metal fixture, City Light urges you to report the incident immediately to the Streetlight Hotline at (206) 684-7056. 

Dave Meyer has been anchoring KNKX news shows since 1987. He grew up along the shores of Hood Canal near Belfair and graduated from Washington State University with degrees in communications and psychology.