Survival Tip: Disrupt the Power Grid

Imagine you are stranded in the woods with no way to call for help. An unnamed man in Saskatchewan found himself in just such a position, but he figured out a plan that worked. He cut down some power line poles! Several hundred people in Wollaston Lake and Hatchet Lake Denesuline Nation lost electrical power for two days. But the power company found the lost traveler.
"He was found under his boat in a very distressed state, so essentially he was stranded for a number of days and just desperate for people to know where he was," SaskPower spokesman James Parker said.

The man reported he had been on a boat on the lake when he hit bad weather. He ended up stranded in the bush, with no way to communicate with the outside world, Parker said.

But he had an axe and he knew SaskPower would have to check the downed line, so he went to work.

"Essentially it was mission accomplished, because we got the call, we chartered a helicopter … and on Friday around noon we discovered him," Parker said.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/05/31/sk-power-pole-survival-1005.html -via Fark

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I think he's an idiot. Even though he could have been 100 ft from where the lines hit the ground, fault current in the ground could have easily been enough to kill him, especially in adverse weather conditions. Look up "Step and Touch Potential"
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Way to be totally unprepared for an emergency.

If he had planned ahead, he wouldn't have had to resort to such a risk. It's not exactly safe chopping down poles.
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I'm with whitcwa. When my family goes into the bush here in Ontario (and it's not that remote really in the Algonquin interior), we leave a plan with a friend that says where we're going, and when we'll be back. If we're not home on time, they can call the appropriate authorities and someone will come looking for us.

But I don't blame the man for being creative in his SOS. I've heard Les Stroud say he would set a forest on fire if it would get him rescued and home to his family, but that is NOT something he recommends as a starting point.
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Following the power lines only works if you're close to civilization. Sounds like he got blown off course by a significant amount. Cutting down the line while you still have the energy for it, is the wisest choice.

As for the cost, if he had brought proper signal gear (which he definitely should have) the rescue would have cost nearly the same amount of money anyway.

In the end, a couple hundred people without power is a small price to pay for the life of one person, and I don't care what anyone says. Those in need have resources in town to cover those needs - including those in the hospitals.
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