Easy way to tell a phone line from power line is to look for insulators (phone line won't have the big ones that power lines do).
Regardless, stay away from them. A lot of people don't realize that you don't have to touch a downed line to be killed by it. If it is live, and touching the ground, it can charge the ground, and the level of charge increases the closer you get to the line. Take a step towards the line with both feet on the ground, the foot closer to the line is at a higher potential (voltage) than the other foot, so now your body is completing a circuit.

The situation up there now reminds of 2004 when Frances and Ivan went through the southern appalachians, although I haven't seen much from Irene obviously. I was in school at Clemson, and I remember driving through the mountains afterwards, and it was unreal how much damage was done. Lots of tornadoes, blowdowns all over, landslides, bridges damaged, and pretty much every river and creek flooded. Actually got to see the Chattooga during its record flood from Ivan, unreal how much water was flowing, and how fast it was moving.