They are buried in many cities in Colorado where I live. The prevalent high winds, dry soils, and abundant snow make it cost effective to do so. In addition to

They are buried in many cities in Colorado where I live. The prevalent high winds, dry soils, and abundant snow make it cost effective to do so. In addition to the snow which everyone knows about, we get 70-80 mph down slope winds every spring and it's cheaper to not have to fix them annually. As a side effect, when my kids experienced a power outage at their grandparents house during a thunderstorm at ages 8 and 11, they were terrified; it had never happened to them before.