Woodpeckers blamed for $1.5M in utility pole damage near Lake Stevens

LAKE STEVENS — The birds are attacking the local power grid.

They’re not practical jokers or extremist saboteurs. No, they’re woodpeckers, likely looking to nest or feed in wooden power poles. The holes they leave weaken the poles, leaving the Snohomish County PUD with the task of covering the birds’ toll.

The utility replaces about 50 power poles per year because of bird and insect damage. This summer, the PUD will replace 19 more in the Bunk Foss area south of Lake Stevens. It will lead to some short-term closures at 103rd Avenue SE while PUD swaps out the damage poles with (woodpecker-resistant) metal ones.

Of the 19 poles being replaced, all but one were due to insect and woodpecker damage. The project will cost a little over $1.5 million.

The work will mean some road closures between June 24 and Aug. 18. Detours will be set up between S Lake Stevens Road and 32nd Street SE. The roads will be open to local access during the closures, PUD spokesperson Kellie Stickney wrote in an email.

“Replacing poles that are damaged by birds and insects is an important part of the maintenance that we do to increase reliability and keep our infrastructure safe,” Stickney added.

In 2017, the PUD posted a photo on social media of a pole allegedly devoured by local woodpeckers, after a stretch of the pole’s trunk had been reduced almost to the width of a toothpick. Some commenters suggested it looked more like the work of a beaver or termites. Another blamed Photoshop.

“We are so lucky our customer called in when they did!” the PUD posted. “We replaced the pole that same day.”

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.