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Aug 31 , 2010
Play video
Avista crews compete in pole-top rescue
Just a quick little video. I was invited by Avista’s Safety and Health department to our training center today to watch our crews compete in an internal, pole-top rescue competition. They compete to rescue a co-worker who is stuck in some way at the top of a utility pole.
They actually let me up in a bucket truck to shoot it (preceded by a safety briefing and a securely fit harness). Pretty cool. I’ll get the full video loaded in a day or two, but wanted to let everyone know it’s coming.
Aug 12 , 2010
811 video, click to play
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Three of the fine gentlemen I met at Home Depot
who visited Avista's educational stations. |
Yesterday was National 811 Awareness Day. Avista and the Spokane Valley Home Depot celebrated this day of safety with an in-store event. Avista staffed three booths throughout the store, each focusing on a different element of 811 and reminding us all to call two days before you dig on your property.
In the couple of hours I was there, Home Depot customers were visiting the booths and getting their “passports” signed. Visitors earned a T-Shirt for visiting two booths. Home Depot also donated a nice BBQ grill as a raffle prize.
Check out this minute and a half video about the event, featuring Operations Tech Alicia Gibbs. And remember to always call before you dig.
Aug 06 , 2010
Avista and Home Depot remind home owners and contractors to call 811 at least 2 days before digging
Avista is partnering with Home Depot to celebrate National 811 day (Tuesday, Aug. 11). All are welcome to join Avista and learn more about 811 at the Spokane Valley Home Depot (5617 East Sprague Avenue) from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Aug. 11, National 811 Day.
Avista employees will be staffing booths where customers can learn more about 811 and why it’s important to call before you dig. While learning more about 811, customers can pick up free giveaways, enter to win a drawing and more! Each visitor will receive an “811 passport” which can get stamped at each booth. Customers who visit two booths will receive a free 811 T-shirt. Customers who visit all three booths will be entered to win a grand prize drawing.
On Aug. 11 and throughout the year, Avista wants to make sure homeowners and contractors alike to call 811 at least 2 business days before digging to eliminate risk of striking an underground utility line.
Jul 16 , 2010
The installation of new operable spillgates at Nine Mile Dam began this week as Avista finished drawing down Nine Mile Reservoir Thursday to allow a work barge and crew to begin. The upgraded system will allow Avista to pre-program desired heights and give operators the ability to raise and lower the height of the spillway at any time, incrementally if needed, in order to maintain the reservoir pool at a more constant level throughout the entire year.
The reservoir level must be lowered during construction to allow the contractor to erect the new spillgates. During construction, the pool level will be 2 to 4 feet below the spillway crest (about 12-14 feet below full pool), which may be lower than what it has been in the past when the flashboards were erected each year in mid-summer.
As a side note, to announce this news, this week we used a new e-mail tool for communicating directly with customers, river users, property owners and stakeholders interested in operational and environmental activities related to our Spokane River Project. This is one more way we’ll try to get information about river and reservoir levels, stewardship work and other river operations to folks quickly and directly. If you’re interested in being part of Avista’s mailing list for Spokane River News, send an e-mail to spokanerivernews@avistacorp.com. Jul 02 , 2010
High water conditions require open spill gates at Post Falls Dam
Avista is advising Spokane River users that boating and swimming remain prohibited in the area between the Spokane Street Bridge and the Post Falls Dam through the holiday weekend. Last week’s heavy rainfall in North Idaho has resulted in higher than normal flows in the Spokane River and Avista must spill the extra water. Because of the open spill gates, it is not safe to be in the water above the dam and a Post Falls city ordinance prevents river use in that area.
Once the spill gates can be closed the Q’emiln Park boat launch will be opened and river recreation can resume. Typically this occurs sometime between Memorial Day and the July 4 holiday. In recent years the median date for closing the gates has been June 18, however the date has occurred as late as July 8 in 2008 and as early as May 22 in 2005.
Avista expects to begin summer operation at the dam as soon as weather conditions allow.
The river above the Spokane Street Bridge and Coeur d’Alene Lake are accessible with several relatively close public boat launches open. They include the launch at Blackwell Island, Third Street Launch, Higgins Point, Boothe’s Landing and Mica Bay.
For current information on Spokane River flows and Coeur d'Alene Lake elevation (includes anticipated changes in flow and elevation for the coming week) call 208-769-1357. For information on Spokane River flows and Lake Spokane elevation (includes anticipated changes in flow and elevation for the coming week) call 509-495-8043.
River users are cautioned that weather conditions can cause rapid changes in water levels. Please exercise caution when using the waterways.
May 12 , 2010
The above video and the following story were originally run in Avista’s employee publication, e.view. But a few folks online commented that they’d like to see this video project I’d been working on. I’m really proud of this video and the employees who set up and then executed this mock accident. It truly shows our company’s commitment to safety and our employees’ dedication. Watch video now.
Realistic mock accident scenario brings out Avista’s best
Journeyman Lineman Mike Toutloff says there’s no handbook on how to rescue a lineman off a pole. Sure, we practice it in all of our various locations and we’re trained well, but rarely if ever do we go out into the woods and test our processes and procedures to see if we can make it happen during a crisis.
So he made it happen.
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During the mock accident scenario, employees give
CPR to the fallen co-workers. | On a rainy, muddy Wednesday morning in April, in a rural area just outside Addy, Wash., Toutloff and Safety and Health Specialist Jim Womble spearheaded a mock accident scenario with an unsuspecting line crew. The scenario was pretty simple. Two linemen come into electrical contact on a pole and the remaining crew members were tasked with doing everything they could to save them.
But here’s where ‘pretty simple,’ gets thrown out the window.
Would radios work this far out in the woods? How about cell phones? Who would respond and how would they find the crew down a one-lane dirt road, miles and miles from the main highway? How would communications with the Colville and Spokane offices play out? Would MedStar be able to land in adverse weather conditions? And finally, but most importantly, could we save our fallen co-workers?
Communications Manager Dan Kolbet was given complete access to every aspect of the on-the-ground scenario, and captured the morning’s events on video. The video, “ Avista Mock Electrical Accident,” tells the tale of the set-up, rationale and every step of the rescue process.
One key component of the mock electrical accident that is missing from the video is how our employees in Colville and Spokane performed when alerted of the surprise event. Many employees noted how real the process felt and that it created a few hours of tense work. Dozens of employees, from many departments came together in support of the crew on the ground from the initial call through the implementation of our Business Continuity Plan.
The event has been hailed as a success throughout the company for its breadth and depth, and for providing critical lessons that could only have been learn through such a challenging, yet simple scenario.
Apr 21 , 2010
We're always pleased when we can get out the word about safety on the bodies of water that our dams are connected with. Yesterday, KXLY reporter Jeff Humphrey did a good story on Avista raising the levels on Lake Coeur d'Alene in conjunction with low spring runoff.
If you're a recreational boater, that might mean you'll be able to use the lake earlier than in previous years. But with these early changes comes the dangers hidden under the water - such as rocks or wooden pilings, so watch out.
Apr 21 , 2010
Weather conditions dictate unusual water levels
Avista is urging boaters to be extra careful when navigating the Spokane River above Post Falls this spring. Because of low snow pack in the watershed, the river may be at unusual levels until after the runoff is completed.
Current water levels are between normal winter and summer seasonal elevations and the water is rising slowly. Boaters should be alert for shallow areas that can contain hidden obstacles such as rocks or wooden pilings.
The river and Coeur d’Alene Lake are expected to return to the normal summer level of 2,128 feet above sea level after the runoff is complete. Weather conditions will determine how quickly a return to summer elevation can occur.
Apr 19 , 2010
Post by Laurine JueAt least once each spring someone reminds me that “April showers bring May flowers” but it’s not the only guarantee that comes with spring – warmer weather also always means outdoor projects are just around the corner.
As you head back outside to put up fences or decks, excavate new gardens, and plant trees (among other things!) don’t forget to call 811 before you dig. It’s easy to forget that pipes, cables and power lines can be buried dangerously close to the surface, and one dig with a shovel or backhoe could strike a natural gas or electric line. It’s not only the smart and safe thing to do to call 811 at least two working days before you plan to dig, it’s the law.
You might already be seeing and hearing 811 reminders on TV, radio, and in newspapers, but it’s worth saying again. Calling 811 will prevent accidental dig-ins, as well as costly fines that customers have to pay if they damage a line. A call to 811 will send a professional to find and mark the location of any buried power lines or natural gas pipes in your yard or dig site.
In the last three years, the number of accidental dig-ins to electrical and natural gas pipes has declined by 39 percent and that’s a trend Avista hopes will continue! For more information on 811 and for other safe digging tips, visit http://www.avistautilities.com/safety.
Help us celebrate “National Safe Digging Month” this April by reminding your family, friends and neighbors to call 811 before they dig. Stay safe!
Dec 14 , 2009
If you’re anything like my two kids (OK, me too), you’ve been anxiously anticipating the pending snow and disappointed by the wimpy dusting of snow we received last night in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. Now, ask me again if I’m excited about the snow after digging my car out of a ditch or spending hours shoveling the driveway or sidewalk and I might be singing a different tune.
But, at least today – pre-snow – I’m excited.
Snow in the Northwest, at least over the last few years, hasn’t been all that friendly. It comes like a led blanket filling the streets and making travel plans slower, if not non-existent. We bought new tires for my wife’s car this weekend and those chains we bought last year are still in the trunk, hopefully for good.
The snow blower is prepped and ready to do the heavy lifting. I got a funny look from my 4-year-old when I pulled the noisy contraption out of the shed in October and fired it up – you know, “just in case.” Better to be over-prepared, I said. She told me not to block in her Barbie Jeep in the garage with my snow blower. Fair enough.
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What you can't see in this picture
is that the snow piles on either side
of this gas meter are about 30 feet
high. | We never had a regularly-in-operation snow blower when I was growing up. Excluding me, of course. The driveway also had those pesky little blacktop bumps that always seemed to mess up my rhythm and jam the shovel into my gut when I got going too fast. I can still feel the handle of that wood and plastic shovel that I cursed every snow day for ruining my fort building and sledding.
But alas, I’ve graduated to a real snow blower that’s pushing five years now - a gift from my mom one December. And no, it didn’t make up for not having a snow blower for the 18 years I lived at home. It was close though, especially over the last two years of record-breaking snow.
The point of my trip down this snowy memory lane is to remind you to keep a clear path to your electric and gas meters. If you miss it on the first big snow, you might never remember to do it. One shovel-wide path is enough. I job-shadowed a meter reader this summer and saw how tough it was to get to some of the meters. Some people tend to pile up leftover items on the side of their houses, making the trip to the meter a treacherous one. Now pile on a foot of snow and it multiples the danger.
It’s not just meter readers that need to get to your meter. Gas and electric service personnel may also need to access your meter this winter – and that’s a safety issue for your whole house.
So, believe me when I say that I know how much work it is to keep the snow in its place, a safe distance from sidewalks, driveways, walkways and to your utility meters. Yet, I think a little extra effort is certainly worth the peace of mind it can bring you.
Let it snow.
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