6 Common Ways Wooden Power Poles Can Be Damaged

Most people are used to seeing rows and rows of wooden utility poles standing tall. It seems the only things that can damage them are hurricanes, tornadoes, or other natural catastrophes. But there are many smaller things that can damage an otherwise sturdy wooden utility pole. Here are six common ways power poles can suffer damage and need to be replaced.

 

1. The Pole is Overloaded

There are photos of utility poles in places such as Hong Kong that are so filled with conductors and insulators and all kinds of wires that the pole itself is hard to see. These poles are considered overloaded, and they are at risk of toppling. This can cause shocking structural damage, blackouts for many people, and death if the pole falls on a person. Even if they can bear the load, overloaded utility poles are at higher risk of causing power outages or even wildfires.

 

2. Decay

If a wooden utility pole is going to decay, that decay is most likely going to start below the ground. The topsoil is full of organisms that evolved to break down material, including the wood of an unprotected utility pole. Eventually, the pole can snap at the ground level. However, it can also break higher up as the pole sucks moisture up from the ground into itself. If the pole is already unsound, the moisture can lead to further decay and a pole that topples over one day. Preservatives applied to the pole by a professional can delay or avoid this kind of damage.

 

3. Pests

A wooden utility pole that hasn’t been protected from pests is as subject to them as any other type of untreated wood. Some of the biggest culprits are termites, carpenter ants, and a variety of beetles, including powderpost beetles and wood borers. These pests not only have mouthparts that are specialized to chew wood, but they can even harbor microbes that help break the wood down. Not only this, many of these insects are especially attracted to wood that’s already been attacked by decay, and a wooden pole can be infested for a long time before the damage is noticed. Fortunately, insects that eat or attack wood tend to avoid wood that’s been treated.

 

4. Natural Disasters

As people have seen photos of overburdened utility poles, they’ve also seen photos of poles that were simply blown down or snapped by hurricane-force winds, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes. Wooden utility poles are also charred by wildfires and struck by lightning.

 

5. Vehicle Damage

Wooden utility poles are very often the victims of vehicular mishaps. The damage can be caused by a car that was going too fast and slammed into one or a dump truck that banged into one as it was trying to back up.

 

6. Neglect or Improper Installation

A properly installed and maintained utility pole can last for over half a century. However, there are those poles that are not well maintained, either because they’re simply neglected or they’re in a place that’s become hard to access. There are other poles that fail because they just weren’t installed properly.