PLANO — A bald eagle tangled in a power line was set free by a Rocky Mountain Power employee Tuesday morning.
Dustin Chambers, a lineman for Rocky Mountain Power, was working in the Thornton area alone when he got a call from dispatch advising him of an eagle trapped on a power line near 4000 West and 3000 North in Plano.
Chambers said when he arrived on the scene he was shocked to see the bird still moving.
“The eagle was kind of hanging when I got there, and I thought he was dead,” he said, “but then I saw his head move.”
Chambers saw that the eagle had a claw around a bolt on the line that he couldn’t let go of “because of the voltage.” The power line was still actively conducting power, though Chambers said he didn’t think the eagle was exposed to any serious amounts of electricity.
After parking his truck near the line and riding the lift bucket up close to the stranded eagle, Chambers reached out with a hot stick, a fiberglass rod used when the power line is still conducting electricity, and pried the eagle’s claws open.
“He let go,” Chambers said. “He dropped 10 feet, spread his wings and took off towards the river.”
Chambers said the eagle perched atop a tree, too far away for him to get a glimpse of any injuries.
This isn’t the first time that critters have been caught in the power lines. Chambers said that Rocky Mountain Power is active in making sure power lines don’t harm nearby wildlife.
“Whenever an eagle is killed, we have a lot of paperwork and updating of poles to make them more raptor safe,” he said. “I do believe we’re going to go out and raptor-proof a bunch of poles in the area so it doesn’t happen again. We cover wire and put covers over our insulators so birds can’t get to the energized parts of the line. It makes it more bird and animal friendly.”
Sgt. Brodi Riding, of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, was first at the scene, having been notified of the trapped eagle by a passing family.
“We’ve had a few times where birds were caught in power lines, but this was more unique because we’ve never had this with a bald eagle before,” he said.
Riding said he didn’t think the eagle was going to make it.
“I’m glad it worked out the way it did,” he said. “The guys at Rocky Mountain Power are the real heroes today.”
Chambers said he was just doing his job.
“Other than that, it’s been an ordinary day,” he said.
