Pine Beetles Could Cause Massive Power Outages On Front Range
source: http://coloradoindependent.com/41305/colorados-vast-beetle-kill-pine-forests-threaten-power-...
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One of the least-publicized aspect of the mountain pine bark beetle epidemic, which has decimated nearly 2 million acres of trees in Colorado, is the threat it poses to the region's power grid. Whole mountainsides of dead and toppling trees throughout the state raise the specter of disaster on the scale of the great Northeast Blackout of 2003.
The largest power outage in North American history left more than 50 million people in the Midwest and Northeastern United States, as well as parts of Canada, without electricity for up to two days beginning on Aug. 14, 2003. It's estimated the blackout cost up to $6 billion and at least 11 lives.
And it all started with untrimmed trees coming into contact with a power line in rural Ohio.
http://coloradoindependent.com/41305/colorados-vast-beetle-kill-pine-forests-thr...
The largest power outage in North American history left more than 50 million people in the Midwest and Northeastern United States, as well as parts of Canada, without electricity for up to two days beginning on Aug. 14, 2003. It's estimated the blackout cost up to $6 billion and at least 11 lives.
And it all started with untrimmed trees coming into contact with a power line in rural Ohio.
http://coloradoindependent.com/41305/colorados-vast-beetle-kill-pine-forests-thr...
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- Environment, Colorado, Power Grid, Power outage, 6 more
