Home emergency playbook

Downed power line in the yard or street

Conservative first steps for homeowners before cleanup, repair, or contractor dispatch. When safety is uncertain, leave and call first.

Utility emergency lineElectrician Español

Immediate steps

Call the utility emergency line first before hiring private repair.
Stay far back from the wire, anything it touches, and wet ground near it; call 911 if fire, injury, or a vehicle is involved.
Keep everyone inside if the line is between the house and the street, and warn others from a window or phone.
If a line is on a vehicle, occupants should stay inside unless fire forces a jump clear with feet together.

Do not touch the wire, a fence, tree, puddle, vehicle, or tool that may be energized by it.
Do not drive over a downed line or move it with lumber, rope, a hose, or a broom.
Do not let a tree crew or roofer begin work until the utility has released the line.

Call 911 if anyone is injured, trapped, in medical distress, or if fire, shock, collapse, or active crime is present.
Call the utility emergency line before private repair when gas, electric service, public water, sewer main, or buried lines may be involved.
Call a licensed electrician for circuit, panel, device, service, bonding, or wiring diagnosis after immediate hazards are controlled.

Photograph the line location only from inside, across the street, or another clearly safe distance.
Keep pets indoors and block yard access until crews remove the hazard.
After release, document damaged mast, siding, trees, fencing, or electronics for repair estimates.

Have qualified tree trimming done near overhead service drops before storm season.
Report sagging service lines, cracked masts, and loose weatherheads before they fail.
Keep portable generator cords away from utility lines and use proper transfer equipment.

Utility-owned line response is usually utility-handled; customer-owned mast, weatherhead, or panel repairs can be moderate to high.

Utility-owned lines, service mast repairs, tree damage, and surge losses may be handled by different parties; keep the outage and release records.