Supposing you had somewhere to go, would you take the high road or the low?

 

Considering the power is most likely off, I'd go the high road. That way you aren't swimming in poop water.

 

Low. Preferably on a boat.

 

Considering the power is on the way-higher lines and they are walking on phone and cable, I'd say high.

 

Incorrect. Those white cylinders are transformers. Notice the 37.5kw written on the sides. Enough to blow a hole through you twice.

 

I notice the white cylinder in the background is fitted with tall insulators on top, and presume the one in the foreground is as well. The live wires are likely well over a meter, maybe two, above everyones' heads. There are wires tied to the bottoms of the transformers, but they are very likely not high tension cables.

 

The large transformers I'm seeing are just inches over their heads.

 

more than a couple inches. plus another 1.5m of transformer and insulator, yes...



On the assumption that 40kV would be easier to find a legit reference than 37.5kV, and that the hard-to-read character is a V (37.5kV), I went googling. For my final response in this thread: I say high.



From http://www.wapa.gov/rm/psmmCHAP-14.pdf

3.1.2 Arc Gap.

Arc gap (length) directly effects the level of heat transferred to a receiving

surface; as the length increases, the amount of heat that is transferred increases. It is

assumed that as a worker is performing a task, the initial arc is struck when a worker

takes a conductive article within the 60 Hz breakdown distance in air. The dielectric

strength of air is taken at 10 kV per inch. The calculated arc gap lengths are shown in

Table 3.1.2.



Line voltage: 69kV

Phase to ground voltage: 40kV

Arc gap (flashover) 40kV/10kV=4"



Line voltage: 500kV

Phase to ground voltage: 318kV

Arc gap (flashover): 318kV/10kV=32"