Friday marks National Safe Digging Day, according to a press release from Duke Energy. The day is dedicated to the importance of calling 811 before digging so that utility companies can come out to the property and properly mark all underground lines.

In the release, Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas ask anyone, whether a DIY homeowner or a professional contractor, who is thinking about digging on a property to call 811 so that they do not accidentally dig and hit electric, natural gas, water, sewer, phone or cable TV lines. The service is completely free to anyone.

Hitting one of those lines can cause injury to the person digging and outages to homes and other buildings served by the same utility line. To avoid this, call 811 and have a local utility company send out a crew to mark all of the relevant areas to not dig in.

Duke Energy’s press release noted that between January and June of this year, Piedmont Natural Gas and Duke Energy had damage to nearly 4,900 natural gas and electric lines in their service areas, which include North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and more.

North Carolina law requires anyone engaging in excavation or demolition activities to call 811 at least three business days prior to the project.

For more information on calling 811 before digging, go to www.nc811.org.