This is the spot where the power line fell on Highway 83 on Friday. As you can see, the tower has been repaired somewhat and reinforced with guy wires. There are at least a half dozen more of these that need to be fixed on the way to Baldwin. Things are a lot worse west of Mandan, however.

Normally those really big power line towers, the ones that resemble stick figures to a degree, are an adversary to a North Dakota photographer like myself. I’ve always been fascinated with them, just not when they’re in the way of a landscape photo or sunset or something like that. In this case, I ran around a little bit to see them twisted into contorted shapes that convey the force wielded by that ice and snow.

These towers are down from Crown Butte westward for at least a mile or two. I can’t imagine how much fun it’s going to be to replace them on soggy ground. The metal is so fatigued and twisted that they’ll simply have to be replaced. Only the concrete footings look salvageable to an untrained observer like me. Even the insulators are damaged on many of them.

Of course, in the process of satisfying my curiosity regarding these giant steel behemoths and their untimely demise, I have to get all artsy about it with my camera. Would you expect any less?

I saw a lot of crews working and a lot of utility trucks driving today as I poked around the outskirts of town. These crews are going to be the heroes of the day as they gradually restore power to more and more customers. Then we’ll be ready for tornado season! Shhh.

More photos from the Baldwin area can be found here.