Audrey Gomez
About 1,700 people were without power for a couple hours Thursday evening, Dec. 11, after a bus driver backed into a guy wire that shorted out an electrical circuit.
The outage lasted from 5:20 to 7:07 p.m., according to Tom Gauntt, spokesman for Pacific Power.
The incident started when a driver at the Sweet Home School District bus barn was backing into a parking space when he “misjudged and hit a guy wire,” said Dave Goetz, Human Resources and Operations Manager for the Sweet Home School District.
The guy wire snapped and hit a live wire.
Goetz was in the parking area with some other employees washing buses.
There were standing puddles of water, so one priority was to keep everyone away from the water, Goetz said.
He said he knew the onlookers would be safe as long as they stayed on the asphalt.
The first thing they noticed was electricity rippling along the wire between the bus garage and the Boys and Girls Club, Goetz said.
“The bus had this glow,” he added. “All you could see was a silhouette of the driver.”
Mechanic Darin Dixon was in the shop when it happened.
“It just lit up,” Dixon said.
He went to get the fire extinguisher but didn’t need to use it, he said.
The bus driver drove forward with both front tires flat, Dixon said.
The driver, a substitute bus driver, was not injured during the incident. He stayed in the driver’s seat as the event unfolded.
“The flames under the bus quickly went away,” Dixon said.
Some rear windows were also damaged in the incident. The total cost to replace the tires and windows is estimated to be about $5,000.
At press time, the Transportation Safety Committee was still conducting their investigation, Goetz said – reviewing tape and having conversations with witnesses.
Goetz declined to reveal the driver’s name, and efforts to reach the driver by press time were unsuccessful.
Roger Blank, Safety and Training Manager from Pacific Power led a training session for district drivers and custodians on Dec. 15.
He said the driver of the bus on Dec. 11 did the right thing by staying in the vehicle.
“He’s OK,” Blank said. “Call for help. Wait for the power company.”