WALKER COUNTY, Ga. – Randy Skidmore wasn’t surprised to see cars on U.S. Highway 27 slow to a crawl, or by drivers pulling to the shoulder to take photos, or by a motorcyclist shouting in amazement at the apparition hovering overhead.
“You don’t see it every day,” Skidmore said of the sight that fascinated motorists: A 25-foot-long, 10-bladed, 840-pound saw dangling 80 feet below a helicopter. The giant saw was shaving away branches close to a 25,000-volt power line near Old Trion Highway.
“We get a lot of onlookers stopping and taking photographs,” said Skidmore, director of corporate operations for the North Georgia Electric Membership Corp.
The electric cooperative, which serves seven counties, hired Rotor Blade of Georgetown, S.C., to trim trees near transmission lines. The company’s helicopter saw has whittled away overgrown woods for a few days and should stay a week longer.
“I’m hoping that we can get at least 10 [miles of powerline] done,” Skidmore said.