Traffic control was in effect on Highway 29 on Monday, August 15, 2011, due to work on power lines impacted by a dump truck's collision with a power pole. Photo by Sheila Pell.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – A downed telephone pole by the Shell gas station on Highway 29 stopped traffic and resulted in a darkened Hidden Valley Lake on Monday evening.

Officials said a large dump truck hit a power pole and sheared it to the ground at about 7 p.m. on private property near Putah Lane, just south of the gas station.

California Highway Patrol Office Kory Reynolds said that William Lahue, 67, of Central Valley, Calif., was backing a 1995 International dump truck when he failed to observe a power pole behind him. Reynolds said Lahue struck the pole and dislodged it.

Lahue was not injured in the collision and no power was lost to Pacific Gas & Electric customers, said Reynolds.

Charlie Laird, a fire apparatus engineer paramedic with South Lake County Fire, said the call came in at about 7:15 p.m.

While the crash didn't cause the outage, Laird said PG&E had to cut the power “for safety reasons” due to tension on the line.

“We requested they evacuate the (gas) station” for safety reasons, said South Lake County Fire Battalion Chief Scott Upton.

While there were no injuries, the incident drew a stream of emergency vehicles – two fire engines, one from Hidden Valley Lake and one from Middletown, along with an ambulance and CHP.

Construction workers who were working on the road when the incident took place slowed and directed traffic on Highway 29, which backed up for hours in both directions.

Power was restored at 3 a.m. Tuesday, Upton said.

Reynolds said CHP Officer Dan Frederick is investigating the collision.

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