As harvest is underway, long days are set for farmers who will be looking to get their crops into the bin quickly, while racing machinery across their fields.

Fatigue can be a problem during those long days, with that leading to farmers making mistakes. In the case of power lines, those can be deadly.

That's why SaskPower is bringing their Look Up and Live program this harvest, to remind farmers to be aware of power lines and their height.

SaskPower Spokesperson Scott McGregor explains what to do should some machinery contact a line.

"Whenever operating large machinery around power lines, there's always the chance that a line contact may occur. If that should happen, what most people should do is stay in their vehicle. If it starts a fire, then by all means you should probably exit the vehicle safely. But if at all possible, if it's safe to do so, stay in your vehicle and give our centre a call at 310-2220, if it's an emergency call 911."

In order to exit a vehicle near a downed power line safely, McGregor tells people to jump away from the vehicle and the power line as far as they can with their arms folded on their chest with both feet together, then hop away from the vehicle at least 10 meters.

So far this year, they've been seeing a similar amount of incidents as last year, having 186 incidents recorded up to August 7th.

One of the best ways to get that number down is to make a plan to prevent those contacts.

"Before heading out into the field to start to get a crop off, preparation is important. Plan your route ahead of time, if at all possible work while well rested. We certainly understand that harvest and seeding," said McGregor, "Those require some very long hours and people are rushing to get the crop off of the field this time of year."

"If possible, take as many breaks as you can and make sure you're well rested and alert, and in the best shape you possibly can be to operate around those power lines."

SaskPower also has a map available on their website that details all of the power lines in Saskatchewan, to help that planning process.

You can find that and other resources on their Look Up and Live page.