100-pound tortoise saved from active power line

A 100-pound African tortoise is safe again after it dug 4 feet underground and nestled near an active power line in Chandler.

The adventured unfolded June 19 when the tortoise’s owner called Salt River Project asking for help, according to KPHO.

The Chandler Fire Department initially arrived. When firefighters discovered the tortoise had dug under a fence and tucked itself close to danger, they told the pet owner to call SRP.

Crews from the company’s Fault Locating Operations (FLO), armed with technical expertise for this unusual rescue, arrived with the proper equipment, according to Jackie Gully, coordinator of FLO operations.

Crews members Mark Acuna, Bryan Burk, Shawn De Jesus and Wayberne Welch carefully dug the tortoise out and returned it to its owner.

The African spurred tortoise is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world. It inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert.