Texas Co-op Hit by Wildfires – ECT.coop

Lineworkers and construction personnel from a north-central Texas co-op are gearing up to rebuild portions of the co-op’s distribution system, following a second round of devastating wildfires near...

Lineworkers and construction personnel from a north-central Texas co-op are gearing up to rebuild portions of the co-op’s distribution system, following a second round of devastating wildfires near a popular recreational lake in four months.

“This time we’ve lost approximately 125 poles,” Marty Haught, senior vice president of communications and public relations at United Cooperative Services, told ECT.coop, Aug. 31.

The Cleburne-based co-op has told consumer-members and business operators in several communities near Possum Kingdom Lake that they should be prepared to be without electric service for several days.

“It’s been extremely dry across Texas, and it seems we hear about fires occurring just about every day,” said Haught. “The major areas in the Possum Kingdom Lake Complex hit this time were the ones that were spared the last time.”

The fire has scorched more than 3,500 acres and destroyed more than 20 homes, according to fire officials, who warn that 125 other homes near the lake are threatened.

Crews from United Cooperative Services and seven other Texas distribution co-ops spent weeks replacing 400 poles and 100 miles of electric distribution line last spring. The work was completed May 5, as the area prepared for a busy summer season.

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