06-24-2010, 01:07 PM
A short in an overhead 46,000-volt power line traveled to a fence post that acted like an electric arc welder, melting a quarter-size hole in the pipeline, the company said.
The bottom of the fence post was anchored just inches above the buried pipeline — an obvious danger that went unnoticed for 30 years, Chevron said.
"It would be highly unusual, but it's a plausible theory," Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.
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The bottom of the fence post was anchored just inches above the buried pipeline — an obvious danger that went unnoticed for 30 years, Chevron said.
"It would be highly unusual, but it's a plausible theory," Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.
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