Three severe storms in 16 days have left downed power lines draped across Hinsdale streets and yards, and Fire Chief Jeffrey Pindelski says some residents are walking right past the safety barricades his crews put up to keep them alive.

The Hinsdale Fire Department on Wednesday, Aug. 12, launched a campaign called "Downed Means Dangerous!" after firefighters watched people ignore exclusion zones around fallen wires. Pindelski, who has led the department since May 2024, said the problem is a dangerous misconception: residents assume a wire that isn't sparking or buzzing is dead.

It isn't.

"We have experienced several incidents in which residents have become complacent about the dangers posed by downed utility wires and have disregarded the safety barricades established by emergency responders to isolate hazardous areas," Pindelski said in the campaign announcement, reported by The Hinsdalean.

According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, a downed line can energize the ground up to 35 feet away. In wet conditions, the danger zone extends even farther because electricity travels through water, puddles, metal fences and wet grass with no visible warning.

The department's rules for residents are specific:

• Stay at least 35 feet back from any downed wire.
• Never drive over a downed line. It can pull down utility poles or energize your vehicle.
• If a line falls on your car, stay inside unless fire forces you out. If you must exit, jump clear without touching the car and ground simultaneously, land with feet together and shuffle away without lifting your feet.
• Call 911 immediately. The fire department will secure the area and notify ComEd.

The campaign follows a punishing stretch of weather. A July 27 storm dumped nearly 3 inches of rain with 70-mph winds, knocking out power to about 1,200 ComEd customers. A derecho on Tuesday, Aug. 11, left 753 homes without power. A tornado watch followed on Wednesday, Aug. 12, while crews were still restoring service. As we reported that day, the third weather emergency hit while hundreds of homes remained dark.

The outages kept coming. Village President Greg Hart wrote on X the evening of Thursday, Aug. 13, that his own home had lost power again and that ComEd crews were en route.

@_greg_hart: "We're aware of the power outage affecting parts of Hinsdale tonight. My power is out as well, and I know how frustrating this is, especially after the outages we've experienced recently."

Nationally, the CDC recorded 538 fatalities from overhead power line contact between 2018 and 2023, according to ESFI data.

Residents who spot a downed wire should not approach it, should warn others from a safe distance and should call 911. The department has posted additional information at villageofhinsdale.org/news_list.php. For any downed line, call 911 first, not ComEd.