OAKHURST — Road 426 east of Oakhurst is currently blocked by power lines down in the road near the Llama Ranch.
The exact location is at the top of Road 426 just past the 25 mph turn near Oak Ridge Drive.
The lines were reportedly knocked down by trucks hauling wide loads of modular homes, as witnesses saw the trucks knocking branches off trees along Road 223.
PG&E and County Roads are en route. CHP, Sheriff’s deputies and fire engines are at scene keeping traffic away from the live wires.
Initial reports were that a vehicle had hit a power pole, but CHP confirms there was no vehicle accident.
Motorists will need to use alternate routes until the situation can be corrected.
This was scary last night. I was directly behind the line of escort vehicles & trucks moving the modular.
The truck drivers were, when no vehicles were coming this is, driving in the center of the road, I’m assuming since they had the wide loads and the narrow roads. The escort vehicles had the yellow lights flashes and well lit signs saying wide load on front & back too. But it was just about 8pm when it happened and quite dark already. The 2nd modular, somehow had snagged the power line, and since the truck driver was unaware and still driving forward, the lines snapped back, pulling the pole free and sending the lines all around bouncing to & fro. They almost hit the truck I was driving and the escort vehicle in front me. Then the pole bounced and hit the road the line snapping I think, I couldn’t tell from my position but it looked that way, and escort vehicle stopped thankfully on a dime. As I did a few hundred yards behind.
I have never been so thankful for not having the urge to follow closely behind slow vehicles as I did at that exact moment in time. If I had been any closer, the lines swaying probably would’ve hit the pipe racks on the my truck and I wouldn’t have had time to stop without slaming into the backside of the escort vehicle.
This was by far the oddest thing I have encountered while driving and one of the most freaky- scarier moments of my life as well.
I do sincerely hope though that the escort company has a darn good reason why they were trying to move the modular in pitch darkness though! And if it is no reason other untimely starting then they should most assuredly be fined in my opinion.
They put many lives in danger last night, besides their own. And I imagine that quite a few households are without power in that area until a new pole is erected and the the lines fixed too.
A very costly mistake on their hands.