Today, I went for a walk.  This morning, the remnants of tropical storm Andrea came through, but there was only a bit of wind and rain in my neighborhood.  I was worried about flooding, but none happened.  However, there apparently was a bit of damage to the power lines.  I happened to hear and see this at a utility pole at Stinson & Swift in my neighborhood:

Arcing power line

[More pictures and animations]

It buzzed and popped and sparked menacingly.  This is an electric arc — There’s no actual fire.  One of the electrical components on this line has failed, and current is leaking into the air.  It finds its way back into the line, heating the air along the way, which allows even more current to travel.  The result is a filament of super hot air that conducts electricity fairly well, and glows and sparkles.  The wind pushes it around.

Emergency crews blocked off the intersection, and SCE&G came and fixed it.  I took some pictures, from a distance of course.

It’s kind of like the Jacob’s ladder demo you see in science museums and mad scientist’s labs.  But I don’t want one on my neighborhood power grid….