| This gas tanker runs down a power pole at the Food Ranch in Orangeville. |
On Oct. 19 at 10:30 a.m. a tanker carrying diesel fuel and premium gas hit a power pole at Food Ranch in Orangeville.
The driver was unaware his back trailer was in contact with the power pole and a customer from inside the store came running out and told the driver to stop. By this point the power pole was just hanging by a thread.
The driver stopped the truck at this point and then the waiting began. Food Ranch cashiers called Rocky Mountain Power and they said they would send someone out that day. The cashiers insisted it was an emergency and then they said they would send someone as quickly as they could. Around 11:45 a.m. the truck from Rocky Mountain Power arrived with a worker who assessed the damage.
The worker then called a lift truck to come to the scene. The lift truck had to come from Price so another hour passed before the light pole was stabilized.
The lift truck has an extension that grabs the pole and keeps it stable while the work is being performed. The pole was stabilized and then the truck was able to back up small distances at a time and get away from the pole.
The trucker was then allowed to empty his load of fuel into the tanks at Food Ranch. Crews worked throughout the afternoon. They set a new pole and then attached the live wires to the new pole.
Food Ranch owner, Drew LeRoy expressed his dismay at the amount of time it took for the power company to respond to the scene. He was glad the power pole wasn’t pulled down because there is a propane tank which sits underneath the power line.
Also the store was filled with customers and people and cars in the parking lot. Also with the two trailers full of fuel there could have been a dangerous fire.
Emery County Sheriff LaMar Guymon said, “We’re glad things turned out as they did in this situation.
The Orangeville fire department responded immediately as did our deputies who directed traffic around the accident. The highway patrol also came and assisted at the scene with traffic control. With everyone working together a potentially deadly accident was avoided.”