CO - OP LIVI NG
Bear in Danger A
s Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) employees were preparing for its annual meeting on Friday, May 13, another sort of meeting was occurring in Cimarron County. This meeting between a Cinnamon phase black bear and one of the cooperative’s 65-foot trans- mission poles could have easily brought the type of bad luck for which Friday the 13th is known. “With the drought conditions we have in the area, bears are travelling farther to look for food and wa- ter,” said Rusty Menefee, Cimarron County’s game warden. “That’s what I believe this bear was doing.” The two-year-old bear was fi rst spotted in a mem- ber’s yard about 7:30 a.m. and the game warden was called. When the bear saw the member, it ran from the area and climbed a transmission pole about 10 miles east of Boise City on Highway 64. Transmis- sion poles carry high voltage power to substations where it is then transformed into smaller voltage to be carried into homes through distribution lines. The transmission pole the bear climbed was car- rying 69,000 volts of power, creating an extremely
A close call ends well for all in Cimarron County Submitted by Tri-County Electric Co-op
Tri-County Electric Co-op helps save a Cinnamon phase black bear.
dangerous situation for the bear as well as posing a serious wildfi re threat if the bear came in contact with the lines. Since those lines carry power to the west- ern part of TCEC’s service territory, a widespread power outage for Cimarron County was also pos- sible.
When Tri-Coun-
ty Electric serviceman Donovan Austin saw the situation, he stopped to help. Menefee called the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife headquarters and made the decision to tranquilize the bear. Tri- County Electric voluntarily cut power to the lines for safety reasons, causing an outage for members in rural Boise City, Felt and the Griggs community from 12:27 p.m. to 12:44 p.m. The bear crawled par- tially down the pole after being tranquilized then
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fell approximately 20 feet to the ground. A veteri- narian determined that it was unharmed. The bear was taken to an undisclosed location and released. “I would advise the public to bring all outside dog food and water indoors at night as that is a draw for bears right now,” said Menefee. “House- hold trash will also attract them, especially right now when it is not being burned in rural areas due to the burn ban.”
Through the combined efforts of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and TCEC, the situation ended well for all parties involved. OL
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Photos by Tri-County Electric Staff
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