Public Service Takes Many Forms

Sometimes our service to the public goes beyond keeping the lights on. Today, for instance, it was about safely rescuing a cat that had been ​up a tree in the Takhini subdivision of Whitehorse for five days.

It started this morning when we received a call from a local resident about the feline. Apparently both the fire department and city by-law had been called, but they weren't able to help. We were asked if we could try to get our bucket truck into the area to rescue the animal.

It just so happened that a bucket truck was heading back to Whitehorse from further north, and Yukon Energy Powerline Technicians Matt Noseworthy, Jordan Corbeil, and Nathan Dumont, along with Arlo O'Riordan and Mike Beauchamp from O'Riordan and Champs (a contractor working for us) headed to the site. However because of the location of the tree, the crew couldn't use the truck. Instead, Matt climbed the tree and tried to lure the cat down. The opposite happened - the animal scampered to the very top.

Plan B: our crew tied a rope from the tree to a larger one near-by. Then Mike and Arlo cut down the tree that held the cat, and our powerline technicians were able to lower the tree in a safe, controlled manner to the point where they could reach the animal.

A huge thank you to the Yukon Energy crew and the contractor...you made some people, and one cat, very happy today!