A job involving AT&T lines in Northwest Houston turned deadly Wednesday when a worker was electrocuted and another hospitalized after their bucket truck rose into power lines hidden inside the branches above. The incident happened in the 8500 block of Observatory Street in the Acres Homes neighborhood, where one worker was pronounced dead at the scene and another was taken to the hospital with injuries that remained unclear.
According to the Houston Fire Department, the crew was raising the bucket on a bucket truck into the trees when it made contact with power lines that were obscured from view by the foliage, as reported by Click2Houston. Click2Houston reported that HPD Lt. Larry Crowson said the three workers at the scene were working on AT&T lines. Fire officials said it was unclear who employed them, though they may have been contractors. The extent of the surviving worker's injuries had not been determined at the time of the outlet's report.
Hidden Lines, Strict Rules
Houston Fire Department's account that the lines were hidden from view inside the tree canopy points to a recurring hazard in the trade, but it doesn't change the legal baseline crews are required to follow. Federal law under 29 CFR 1910.333(c)(3), enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, requires unqualified persons to stay at least 10 feet from overhead lines carrying up to 50 kV. The standard also requires overhead lines to be de-energized and grounded or other protective measures to be provided. A separate OSHA standard permits only certified line-clearance tree trimmers who've completed hazard-recognition training to work within that 10-foot buffer around energized lines.
Texas law adds another layer of protection. Chapter 752 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as described by FindLaw, requires anyone planning tree trimming or other temporary work within 6 feet of high-voltage overhead lines to notify the operating utility at least 48 hours ahead of time so the lines can be de-energized or protectively guarded. Violations can carry a fine, county-jail time, or both, along with civil liability for damage to utility infrastructure.
A Familiar Hazard Across Greater Houston
CenterPoint Energy, the region's primary electric utility, trims roughly 1 million trees a year, and tree contact with electrical equipment accounts for about 20 percent of unplanned power outages in the area when a cause is identified, per a report from Click2Houston. General safety guidance calls for at least 10 feet of clearance from overhead lines.
The danger isn't confined to one neighborhood. In August, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies responded to a similar incident in nearby Cypress, where a 45-year-old worker was injured after a tree branch contacted a live overhead line, as Hoodline previously reported.
The incident happened in Houston's Acres Homes neighborhood.
Key questions remain unanswered following Wednesday's incident, including who employed the two workers, whether they were certified line-clearance tree trimmers under federal standards, and whether CenterPoint Energy or local safety regulators had been notified before the bucket truck was raised into the trees.
