Lightning Protection: Alaska
Being home to six military installations (three US Army and three USAF) and five Coast Guard installations, lightning rods and lightning protection systems are becoming more and more common in Alaska. The Bureau of Land Management placed lightning sensors in Alaska and they have located 26,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes in Alaska per year! The BLM also estimates that 97% of acreage lost to wildfires in Alaska is due to lightning strikes. Most cloud to ground lightning strikes in Alaska are in the White Mountains north of Fairbanks.
Oil production has a major role in the Alaskan Economy. Just like the rest of the United States, oil production is a dangerous job with flammable gasses. To protect structures, revenues and people many companies are installing lightning rods and lightning protection systems on their property to save life and property against lightning.
KLP, Kuefler Lightning Protection, is a distributor of lightning protection systems and grounding equipment, offering a full line of UL Listed Lightning Protection System Materials that meet the lightning protection standards of UL96A, NFPA-780 and LPI-175, etc. We offer Direct Sales. Give us a call today at 800 370 5886 to see how we can assist you in the design, installation, maintenance, and inspection of your system.
Lightning Facts: Alaska
Some 2,800 people in Mountain View and Muldoon lost power around 9:30 p.m. after lightning struck a power line in the area, said Julie Harris, a spokeswoman for Municipal Light & Power. The outage lasted about an hour. It was the first time the power company had seen a lightning-related power outage in 15 years, Harris said. Another lightning strike around the same time also caused a smaller outage in South Anchorage, according to the Chugach Electric Association, which supplies power to most of the Anchorage Bowl and the Hillside. Company’s spokeswoman Julie Hasquet said a lightning strike that traveled through a power line there blew some fuses in a switch cabinet near Dowling Road and B Street, cutting power to about 500 people. Hasquet said she didn’t know exactly how often the company sees lightning-caused power outages, but called them “very infrequent.”
Also see How to stay safe during lightning storms