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Austin Energy sends warning to public about downed wires

"It doesn't take much for an electrical arc or electrical condition to stop your heart," Austin Energy said.

AUSTIN — KVUE learned that during Friday night's storms, Austin/Travis County’s 911 center received 13 calls for wires down.

During Hurricane Harvey, they received more than 600 calls for wires down.

Of those hundreds of calls, only a small percentage were actually active wires. Many turned out to be communication lines.

But it's hard to tell the difference and that's why Austin Energy is reminding people before the next storms roll in to treat every downed wire as if it were a live wire.

Live wires, when touched, can cause serious damage or even death.

"It doesn't take much for an electrical arc or electrical condition to stop your heart," said Paul Vasquez with Austin Energy. "It takes 50 milliamps to stop your heat and that could be only 50 volts of electricity."

To put that in perspective, some power lines around town have 138,000 volts of electricity according to Vasquez.

If you see a wire down, don’t touch it. Call 9-1-1 immediately and Austin Energy will send one of their 200 electricians that are staffed 24 hours a day.

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