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Toledo Edison crew members are on high alert ahead of strong winds

Extreme winds, like the ones we are expecting, can bring down power lines, tree limbs, and send your holiday decorations flying down the road.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Extreme winds, like the ones that are expected in northwest Ohio on Saturday can easily knock down trees or branches. And if a tree falls on a powerline, it could knock out power to nearby residents.

The spokeswoman for Toledo Edison, Lauren Siburkis said she's confident in the storm response plan they have in place. "That work is crucial to preventing tree branches from blowing into our equipment when there's high winds," said Siburkis.

Siburkis explained that in preparation for the expected severe weather, Toledo Edison has created a storm response plan, trimmed thousands of trees near power lines and invested millions of dollars in infrastructure to prevent and minimize the impact of outages that happen from severe weather.

In addition, Toledo Edison has adjusted staffing to bring in extra crew members this weekend. Still, Siburkis says the power lines are strong enough for severe weather.

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"Our system is designed to withstand high winds, but it's the elements like trees falling into our equipment that we can't control."

That's the same with Christmas decorations. According to Home Depot, most inflatable yard decorations are made from waterproof nylon or other synthetic materials designed to resist rain or snow. 

But if it stops working or goes in and out during the bad weather, the retailer suggests bringing it inside or at the very least, unplugging it until the weather improves. 

Now, what if Santa goes down and your lights go out from a weather-related power outage? 

Siburkis said Toledo Edison has installed backup power lines with automated technology to help prevent outages or keep them short if they do occur. 

RELATED: Toledo Edison celebrates 100 years of powering northwest Ohio communities

"So, some of the equipment that we've installed over the past couple years includes automated technology that acts like a circuit breaker in your home would that temporarily shuts off power when something like a tree branch falls on a line," she explained. "But then it automatically restores the outage without having to send a crew to investigate."

As always, Siburkis said safety comes first when it comes to dealing with downed power lines.

"Assume any wire is live and dangerous and call 911 to report it immediately," she said.

And if you're driving in extreme winds, try and keep a safe distance between your car and others in front of you. If you're not comfortable driving, you can safely pull over to the side of the road with your hazards on and wait it out. 

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