By Angela Hatton
Murray, KY – Kentucky Emergency Management Director General John Heltzel says some transmission line towers that collapsed during the ice storms weren't up to current structural standards. Heltzel says older towers were built before Kentucky officials used data to develop integrity codes. However, officials say it's only assumption at this point to blame structural problems as the cause of much of the tower damage.
"What you really gotta get in your mind is if you go out there the amount of ice that collected on the upper elements of those towers was in the hundreds of pounds. So that's not typical design for any structure that's aerial-based."
Heltzel denies tree-trimming efforts wouldn't have had much affect either on the ice storm destruction. He says major hazardous branches had already come down last fall during the high winds caused by Hurricane Ike.