SCE Crew Pulls Off a Racoon Rescue
SCE Crew Pulls Off a Racoon Rescue
Calls for help aren't anything unusual for Southern California Edison troublemen Omar Guzman and Mark Cantrall.
The two work together, troubleshooting outages and responding to emergencies throughout Orange County. For this duo, staying calm and acting quickly is all part of the job.
Their training and quick thinking were put to the test again during a service call last week.
“Maybe once every couple of months, we'll get an animal on the lines,” Cantrall said. “We take that very seriously at SCE and always do our best to make sure no harm comes to them.”
After reportedly going without food or water for two days, a raccoon remained stranded atop a power pole in a Santa Ana neighborhood until help from SCE arrived.
Just as Cantrall and Guzman were finishing up another call, they were dispatched to help a raccoon stranded high above the ground. The mammal was reportedly trapped there for two days without food or water during sweltering heat.
After several unsuccessful attempts by the neighbors to lure it down, they reached out to SCE.
“Mark is a big animal lover,” Guzman said. “So, when we heard this, he basically did an all-stop. He said ‘Hey, we've got to take care of this ASAP. This is the priority right now,’” Guzman said.
Luckily for the little guy, the team arrived with its bucket truck within minutes, prepared to reach the raccoon and help the furry stowaway get down safely.
“I just kind of started talking to him, let him know I'm not a threat and tried to move slowly,” Cantrall said.
Just like with any other call, the two worked as a team, drawing on their combined years of experience at SCE.
Longtime coworkers and SCE troublemen Mark Cantrall (l) and Omar Guzman (r) put their teamwork into action to rescue a raccoon perched on a power pole.
“While he was up in the air taking safety precautions, I was on the ground coordinating with a homeowner to grab his dog and keep him away from the pole — just securing the area,” Guzman said.
Just as the bucket moved closer, the raccoon climbed down on its own, as if the sight of the approaching crew was all the motivation it needed.
“Even though in the end it got down on its own, we are glad we could be there to support,” Guzman said. “If this happens again, we just want customers to know to call us first. They should never attempt to climb the pole themselves or spray water to try and get the animal down. That can be very dangerous.”
For more information, visit sce.com/safety.
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