KPUD fiber is built tough

I wrote in a previous blog post many years ago that KPUD builds their overhead distribution using strand and lash. This is the most robust construction methodology. It adds extra cost but it is worth it. We see very few mainline breaks each year even though Kitsap is huge and we serve over hundreds of miles of distribution fiber. Last night we had a surprise windstorm event. I was laying in bed and thought to myself “wow, that’s a big gust”. No more than one minute later we had the classic PSE explosion nearby and our home went dark.

Here is a picture of the giant Hemlock that fell across the roadway. If you have an eagle eye you will see there are two poles there. The first pole (which has communications on it) used to be the only pole. Last fall, a tree fell about 30 feet to the north and mangled the top of the PSE pole. PSE had to put in a replacement power pole. Guess what they had to do again? Yup, replace the same power pole. The communications hadn’t transferred yet so their pole was easy to swap out. The tree broke the top of the new PSE pole, broke the PSE wires and took the KPUD fiber to the ground. We have a customer downstream of the event; they have solar and a Tesla power wall. They were still online! The Comcast and Qwest cables were trashed, as was the 13KV three phase power distribution lines. But KPUD? They kept right on blinking those internet data bits right under the tree. Yes, we called it in. Yes, KPUD will do a site survey for damage and possible re-lashing in the future. But dang, I was impressed.