[Grampa Dave]

Never do near nor under high powered lines during a fire with a lot of smoke.

The heavty smoke acts as a conductor, and the electricity will arc out from the lines and down to the ground. If you, a cow, a deer or elk are there, the trip is shorter.

I have pinged Robert357, our resident electrical expert on Free Republic for his input.

[farmfriend]

Ping

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping!

I have been away quite a bit but still checking in now and then!

[Robert357]

The heavty smoke acts as a conductor, and the electricity will arc out from the lines and down to the ground.

The dust, especially if carbon, is a conductor. The big concern for utilities is that conductive dust will build up on "insulators" and will cause a flashover at where the wired (conductors) are connected to the transmission towers.

I got an emergency message indicating a derating of one of the major interties to California due to fires among my email I downloaded today. If there were a heat wave in California this could become significant.