(no subject)

Very sadly, a bloke was killed and his wife critically injured when a gum tree fell on their 4WD as they drove along a street in St Leonards. The tree fell directly on the front of the cabin, crushing it.

As for our much smaller drama. Energy Australia arrived not long after 2pm, allowing the police to finally go (after nearly 4 hours sitting at the top of the street). We'd just had lunch, so it was good timing before they had to turn our power completely off. And the tree and the lines were closer to the ground.

A multitude of trucks arrived, a couple left after awhile to do other jobs. We were left with a cherry picker and I think two other trucks. Stood out in the freezing gale and watched the afternoon's entertainment. They used the cherry picker so they could cut off most of the branches. They had problems, trying to get under the wires (extremely difficult on a hill) and also because the crown of the tree was caught in the pine tree on the other side of the road. Just as well the pine tree was there, it was taking a bit of the weight, without it the gum tree would probably have completely taken the lines down.

They cut back as far as they could and the crane finally arrived. The crane lifted it off the wires, the blokes in the cherry picker cut it back further, and then managed to pull the wires out from under it. A few tense moments, every time some of the strain was taken off the wires, the wires up our side of the pole and the pole would bounce. It was amazing how tight the wires our side were, and how far the wires were able to stretch to hold the tree.

The crane then dropped the trunk on the road. We clapped and cheered. The bloke in the cherry picker waved. The crane then picked the trunk up off the road, turned it 90 degrees, and dropped it on the grass off the road.

They finished that close to 5.30pm. The crane left, and the others got into fixing the lines. They had to put a new cross beam up on the pole, and then reconnect all the wires, and reattach the one that was down outside our place. Another cherrypicker arrived so they could work from either side of the pole, also tightening the lines where the tree was resting and reattaching the lines to a number of the houses.

By the time all that was done, and we'd got Chinese for dinner, the power finally came back on (first the phase that had been out earlier, and then the lot) about 8:40pm. So just about 11 hours on the dot since the tree went.

Between the drought, then all that rain, those winds were all that was needed to bring trees down everywhere.

The SES or council will have to deal with the remains of the tree tomorrow.
Amazingly enough, the fridge that had no power for 11 hours was only just starting to drip, and the fridge that was out for about 6 hours was still cold (and a partial bottle of Solo that had been accidentally left in the freezer part was quite solid).

I do like my electricity.

(no subject)

Very sadly, a bloke was killed and his wife critically injured when a gum tree fell on their 4WD as they drove along a street in St Leonards. The tree fell directly on the front of the cabin, crushing it.

As for our much smaller drama. Energy Australia arrived not long after 2pm, allowing the police to finally go (after nearly 4 hours sitting at the top of the street). We'd just had lunch, so it was good timing before they had to turn our power completely off. And the tree and the lines were closer to the ground.

A multitude of trucks arrived, a couple left after awhile to do other jobs. We were left with a cherry picker and I think two other trucks. Stood out in the freezing gale and watched the afternoon's entertainment. They used the cherry picker so they could cut off most of the branches. They had problems, trying to get under the wires (extremely difficult on a hill) and also because the crown of the tree was caught in the pine tree on the other side of the road. Just as well the pine tree was there, it was taking a bit of the weight, without it the gum tree would probably have completely taken the lines down.

They cut back as far as they could and the crane finally arrived. The crane lifted it off the wires, the blokes in the cherry picker cut it back further, and then managed to pull the wires out from under it. A few tense moments, every time some of the strain was taken off the wires, the wires up our side of the pole and the pole would bounce. It was amazing how tight the wires our side were, and how far the wires were able to stretch to hold the tree.

The crane then dropped the trunk on the road. We clapped and cheered. The bloke in the cherry picker waved. The crane then picked the trunk up off the road, turned it 90 degrees, and dropped it on the grass off the road.

They finished that close to 5.30pm. The crane left, and the others got into fixing the lines. They had to put a new cross beam up on the pole, and then reconnect all the wires, and reattach the one that was down outside our place. Another cherrypicker arrived so they could work from either side of the pole, also tightening the lines where the tree was resting and reattaching the lines to a number of the houses.

By the time all that was done, and we'd got Chinese for dinner, the power finally came back on (first the phase that had been out earlier, and then the lot) about 8:40pm. So just about 11 hours on the dot since the tree went.

Between the drought, then all that rain, those winds were all that was needed to bring trees down everywhere.

The SES or council will have to deal with the remains of the tree tomorrow.
Amazingly enough, the fridge that had no power for 11 hours was only just starting to drip, and the fridge that was out for about 6 hours was still cold (and a partial bottle of Solo that had been accidentally left in the freezer part was quite solid).

I do like my electricity.