With harvest well underway in southwestern Saskatchewan, SaskPower is reminding producers to be careful around their infrastructure.

The Crown corporation had fielded 187 calls for incidents involving farm equipment in 2023 as of August 8, which is up about 10 per cent from the same time last year.

"It's really important that regardless of where you live or where you farm, you do it safely," Scott McGregor, a spokesperson for SaskPower, said. "You make sure you know where the power lines are, you know how big your vehicle is, and that you take the proper steps to make sure that you're working safely." 

Most of the time a piece of farm equipment comes into contact with a power line, it's an auger, seeder, or sprayer.

"For the vast majority of instances when a power line or power pole is contacted, the safest place to be is in the vehicle," he said. "You should call 911 and our outage centre at 310-2220. We'll have someone out there to make sure the area is safe before you get out of your vehicle."

However, sometimes that option isn't viable.

"Should a line contact create a fire or if the situation isn't safe to stay in your vehicle, then it's really important you leave your vehicle safely," he said. "Swing the door open as wide as you can, making sure not to touch the outside of the vehicle, keep your arms close to your body, and jump as far from the vehicle as you possibly can making sure not to touch the outside of the vehicle. Land with both of your feet together and then hop away with your arms still tight to your body at least 10 metres and then call 911."  

McGregor added the calls for these incidents don't seem to be higher in any specific area across the province.

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