Zapping from a power line “Here in Idaho log truckers get their wrappers over the load in one of two ways. They either have the loader pull them over or they throw them over by hand. There are pluses and minuses to each practice. We have had drivers hit by logs after they were knocked off by the loader and we have had shoulders torn up trying to throw them. “Wrapping up a load is one of those jobs all of us take for granted. But, looking back, wrapping up has produced many of our most serious accidents. Adding some power lines into the mix doesn’t help.
“Years ago a power expert came to one of the safety classes and mentioned that you didn’t have to come in contact with the power line to get zapped. Whether it is a wrapper, self loader, boom off of a line machine, the power will arc and then run to ground. This is definitely something to think about.”
—from Idaho Logging Safety News, Division of Building Safety, State of Idaho
