Plowing powder to keep the lights on

ISLAND PARK: Rush hour traffic is full of flakes for Fall River Electric. Snowflakes that is.

The line crew is out in sun or snow. In Island Park, that’s usually snow. Some power line routes in the high country are buried in white eight months of the year, but the line crew still has to access power poles to make sure the lights stay on down the line.

Learn how the linemen do the job in the video above.

“Respect the power line. You gotta understand you gotta do what you gotta do,” said Tim Jenkins, Fall River Electric journeyman lineman. “Do your job right and you’ll go home at night with all your fingers and toes.”

The line crew does maintenance year round in Island Park, making sure the homes and cabins in the mountainous area have power and heat. In the winter, the crew accesses power lines via snowmobile or snowcat.

Outdoor journalist Kris Millgate is based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. See her work at www.tightlinemedia.com.