Road Salt and Mist Spark Pole Fires That Lead to Power Outages in Cuyahoga County, Ohio

      I had been unaware of the phenomenon of pole fires, or pole-top fires, on electric poles, and especially of the conditions that created them in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, yesterday. What is a pole-top fire, and what usually causes them?  Public Electric Cooperative explains:

“Pole-top fires can occur when moisture in the air combines with dust and dirt built up on power lines or insulators (used to attach lines to wooden poles) and creates a path by which electricity can travel from lines to the wooden pole or cross arm they are attached to. This is known as "tracking."

“When this happens, the pole or cross arm can heat up and catch fire. The fire damage or the resulting short circuit can cause an outage, as poles damaged by fire usually need to be replaced, or the line may need to be repaired. Drought and humid weather (without rain) contribute to the risk of pole top fires, and fog, light rain, or light, wet snow can provide the right conditions for pole-top fires to occur. Insulators damaged by lightning or other issues may also cause a pole fire.”

     An article for Manitoba Hydro notes that pole-top fires are a major source of spring power outages.

“Pole fires happen as humid air joins forces with dirt, salt, and grime, usually from traffic kicking up dirty mist that coats insulators, making a path for electricity to go from the line to the pole.”

     Thus, it is airborne dust, grime, and salt that accumulate on insulators, along with moisture in the air that initiates pole-top fires.

     The pics below show the effects of a pole fire. The ceramic things that look like springs are the insulators.

Mitigating Pole-Top Fires

     Electrical Safety Authority notes that one way to help prevent pole-top fires is pole washing, or more specifically, insulator washing, where the contaminants are simply washed off the insulators.

“Insulator washing has been found to be effective in removing contamination and eliminating leakage current from ceramic equipment and should be considered as a pole fire mitigation measure in areas with this equipment material.”

     A preferred method of preventing these fires is known as pole framing. This is designing the pole so that the rain naturally washes it. Of the pole framing configurations below, the armless configuration is best for preventing pole fires.

     Utilities have plans in place to track pole fires. These often involve getting calls from those who have seen the fires. They can then restore the line to limit future fires as well as investigate the cause. It is important to pinpoint the contributing causes, such as aging and cracking insulators.

     Safegrid is a company that provides digital intelligence to locate faults. Below, they explain the usual factors leading to pole-top fires.

     Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System is designed to provide predictive maintenance and to monitor the grid to detect and locate faults. Early fault detection can prevent further problems from developing and reduce outage times.

     Yesterday, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, near Cleveland, an outage affected 47,000 customers due to a pole fire or fires. A strong contributing factor in these cases was determined to be road salt used to melt the significant snow that has fallen this year. Combined with a humid day, the conditions were right for pole fires.

“The misty rain combined with salt on the road can cause contamination on utility poles. When that happens, electricity can travel across the pole and cause small fires.”

  

 

 

References:

 

Road salt, mist spark small fires and power outages in Cuyahoga County. Amy Russo, cleveland.com. Cleveland Plain Dealer. March 3, 2026. Road salt, mist spark small fires and power outages in Cuyahoga County

Pole fires: a leading cause of springtime outages. How do they happen? Manitoba Hydro. April 3, 2024. Pole fires: a leading cause of springtime outages

Prevent pole fires with Safegrid. Safegrid. March 26, 2024. Prevent pole fires with Safegrid — Safegrid

What is a pole-top fire? People’s Electric Cooperative. 2026. What is a pole-top fire? – People's Electric Cooperative

Mitigation of Pole Top Fires: Best Practice: Version 1. Electrical Safety Authority. Worker safety - Outreach to Municipalities - Electrical Safety Annex