Oops, the junky old tree in the backyard of the absentee-owned apartment building down the alley from me had an accident during the historic storm that hit the region on March 14. Somehow, amazingly, the power line did not snap. There is an epidemic of unhealthy, dead and dying trees in St. Louis in the forty to fifty-year old age range in St. Louis, and it will take a long time for them to be removed, one way or another.
This is a classic “teachable moment” picture. With the tree pulling down what appears to be the electric feed line, you should consider the tree to be electrically charged with sufficient voltage to be lethal if you come into contact with the tree even though the tree is also in contact w the ground. The urge is to clean up the tree so the utility people can address the matter quickly BUT unless you are electrically trained and have the proper safety gear, you are best off blocking access to people and avoiding contact until trained personnel have examined it and made sure it is safe to remove the tree.
You are 100% correct, and AmerenUE responded promptly and secured the wires. But two weeks on, the owner has done nothing to remove the downed tree trunk.