What Should I Do If a Power Line Falls in My Yard?
A downed power line after an Oklahoma storm is a deadly emergency, not a repair to walk up to. Here's exactly what to do — and what never to do — plus how to tell what's the utility's job and what's yours.
If an Oklahoma storm brings a power line down into your yard, treat it as a life-threatening emergency from the first second — not an inconvenience, and definitely not something to inspect up close. Every fall and winter, when the ice storms and straight-line winds we’re known for start snapping limbs and dragging down utility lines, this becomes one of the most dangerous situations a homeowner can walk into. The good news is that staying safe is simple, as long as you know the rules before it happens. Here’s exactly what to do.
Do This Right Now
If you see a line down on your property, on the road, across a vehicle, or draped over a fence:
- Stay far back — at least 30 to 35 feet. The wire doesn’t have to be sparking or moving to be deadly. Keep that distance and treat everything the line is touching as energized too.
- Keep everyone else away. Get kids, neighbors, and pets back and keep them back. People instinctively walk toward a downed line to look — that instinct is what gets people hurt.
- Call 911 and your electric utility. Report the location. If a line is on the road or a vehicle, 911 can dispatch crews to block the area while the utility de-energizes the line.
- Do not touch anything the line is contacting — not a fence, a tree limb, a puddle, a car, or another wire. Any of them can be carrying the same voltage.
- Wait for the professionals. Only the utility can confirm a line is safe. A line that looks dead can be re-energized automatically as the system tries to restore itself.
That’s the whole playbook. Distance and patience keep you alive; nothing you can do up close is worth the risk.
Why a Downed Line Is So Deadly
The danger isn’t obvious, which is exactly what makes it so hazardous. A fallen line often just lies there — no sparks, no sound, no visible sign of the thousands of volts it may still be carrying.
Two things make it lethal:
Energized surroundings. Electricity looks for a path to ground, and a downed line will happily send that current into whatever it’s touching. A wet lawn, a metal fence that runs the length of your property, a puddle, a chain-link gate, a car’s frame — all of these can become live. You don’t have to touch the wire itself to be electrocuted; touching something it’s contacting is enough.
Step voltage. When a line hits the ground, voltage radiates outward through the soil in rings, dropping off with distance. If you walk through that zone, your two feet can be standing on ground at two different voltage levels — and the difference drives current up one leg and down the other. This is why the guidance is to stay back and, if you’re caught close, to shuffle away with tiny steps, feet together, never taking a big stride that bridges two voltages.
If a Line Falls on Your Car
This one is counterintuitive, and it’s worth knowing before it happens. If a line comes down across your vehicle while you’re inside, the safest thing is usually to stay put. The car’s frame carries the current around you, not through you, as long as you’re not touching metal and the ground at the same time. Call 911, wait for the utility to kill the power, and let crews tell you it’s safe.
The only time to leave is if the car is on fire or you’re in immediate danger. Then you have to get out without ever touching the vehicle and the ground at the same moment: open the door, jump clear so you land with both feet together and never bridge the car and the ground, then shuffle away in small steps. It’s an emergency-only move — done wrong, it’s how the current finds you.
The Generator Warning Most People Miss
Storms that drop power lines are the same storms that send people out to their generators — and here the two dangers connect. If a portable generator is wired into your home incorrectly, without a proper transfer switch, it can backfeed electricity out through your home’s wiring and onto the utility lines. That turns a “dead” downed line into a live one and can electrocute the very line crews working to restore your power.
Never connect a generator to your home’s wiring through a dryer outlet or any other shortcut. Use a transfer switch or interlock installed by a licensed electrician, and run appliances off the generator with proper cords only. It protects the crews outside and your own home’s wiring.
Who Repairs What After the Line Is Down
Once the emergency is over and the power company has secured the area, homeowners are often surprised to learn the repair isn’t entirely the utility’s job. The dividing line runs at your house:
- The utility owns and repairs the line running to your home, up to the point where it connects at the house.
- You own the parts bolted to your house — the service mast (the pipe the line attaches to), the weatherhead, and the meter base. If the storm ripped the line off your home, it often damages these too.
Here’s the catch that leaves people in the dark longer than they expect: the utility generally won’t reconnect your power until that homeowner-owned equipment is repaired by a licensed electrician and, in most of the OKC metro, passes an inspection. So after a bad storm, the fastest path back to power is calling the utility to report the outage and getting a licensed electrician out to assess the service entrance. If your home needs that kind of emergency electrical repair, it’s not a DIY job — it’s high-voltage work tied to code and permits.
The Bottom Line
A power line in your yard is one of the few home emergencies where the right move is to do almost nothing: stay 30-plus feet back, keep everyone away, touch nothing the line contacts, and call 911 and your utility. Don’t judge a line by whether it’s sparking — assume it’s live. And if a storm tears the service off your house, remember that the mast, weatherhead, and meter are yours to repair before the lights can come back on.
If an Oklahoma storm has damaged your home’s electrical service and you need a licensed electrician to get you safely reconnected, Triple Play Home Services serves Edmond, Oklahoma City, and the surrounding metro. We’ll assess the damage, handle the permit and inspection, and give you a flat-rate price you approve up front before any work begins. Call (405) 500-5333.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a downed power line always dangerous, even if it's not sparking or moving?
- Yes. Assume every fallen line is live and lethal, no matter how still or silent it looks. A downed line doesn't have to spark, hum, or move to be energized — it can sit quietly on the ground carrying thousands of volts. It can also energize the ground around it, a puddle, a chain-link fence, or a wet tree branch it's touching. Never judge a line by how it looks. Stay far back and call for help.
- How far away should I stay from a fallen power line?
- At least 30 to 35 feet — and keep others, kids, and pets back with you. Voltage from a downed line spreads outward through the ground in rings, so the danger zone extends well past the wire itself. If you're already closer than that when you notice it, back away slowly with small shuffling steps, keeping both feet close together and on the ground, until you're clear.
- A line was torn off my house. Who fixes it — the power company or me?
- Both, on different parts. The utility restores its line up to the connection point on your home. But the mast, weatherhead, and meter base attached to your house are the homeowner's responsibility, and the utility usually won't reconnect power until a licensed electrician repairs that damage and it passes inspection. Call the utility to report the outage and a licensed electrician to assess the service entrance.