A team of cause and origin fire investigators led by New Mexico State Forestry has determined that a powerline caused the Las Conchas fire northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The fire has become the largest fire in New Mexico history and has blackened over 121,000 acres while running up suppression costs of $5.4 million and burning 63 residences. Here is an excerpt of a news release at New Mexico Fire Information:

An interagency investigative team led by New Mexico State Forestry has been determined that the Las Conchas Fire was caused by a fallen tree that caught fire after coming into contact with nearby power lines, according to New Mexico State Forester Tony Delfin.

Investigators from New Mexico State Forestry, the USDA Forest Service, New Mexico State Police and Sandoval County conducted the investigation and were on scene shortly after the fire started on Sunday, June 26. Since then, the fire has burned more than 121,248 acres.

Investigators believe the fire started after an aspen tree was blown down onto nearby power lines during a period of strong winds. The contact resulted in the line arcing, which then caused the tree to catch fire. Heat and flame caused the line to snap, which then allowed the burning tree to fall onto the ground where the fire spread into nearby vegetation.

We found a video of a fire starting when a tree contacted a powerline in Bellingham, Washington. Below is a screen capture, and HERE is a link to the video.

San Diego Gas and Electric Company has agreed to pay the state of California $14.8 million over three fires in 2007 that were caused by their power lines. Investigators determined that shoddy maintenance of the lines led to arcing, which started the Witch Creek, Guejito, and Rice Canyon fires that burned through the communities of Ramona, Fallbrook, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, and Rancho Santa Fe in October and November of 2007. The fires destroyed more than 1,300 homes, killed two people, and caused massive evacuations.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved the settlement on Thursday, as well as a $2 million settlement with Cox Communications. Investigators say one of Cox’s cables blew into a power line, starting the Guejito fire.  Both companies say they are not at fault for the fires, but just wanted to get the charges out of the way.

The Commission accused SDG&E of obstructing their investigation of the cause of the fires. According to the San Diego Union, in the settlement the company admitted that it didn’t give investigators the information they asked for and didn’t let its workers talk to the investigators, as required by law.

Wilderness Ridge fire. Photo: Jarred Lemmon

A law firm in Texas has created a web site to recruit plaintiffs who are interested in joining a lawsuit related to the Wilderness Ridge fire which burned 26 homes, 20 businesses, and 1,491 acres in Bastrop County, Texas in February, 2009. In a Case Study of the fire, the Texas Forest Service described it as “the most destructive wildfire in Central Texas”.

So far the lawyers have 20 plaintiffs that have signed on with them.

The fire was caused by a downed power line. The attorneys say a tree fell into the line, snapping it and starting the fire. In addition to suing the Bluebonnet Electrical Cooperative which was responsible for maintaining the line, they are suing Camp Wilderness Ridge, a children’s camp, which, according to the law firm:

…had allowed Bluebonnet to run power lines on its property. Like Bluebonnet, Camp Wilderness Ridge also failed to keep trees and vegetation from growing too close to the power lines.

The children’s camp claims that it is the sole responsibility of the utility company to maintain the power line and keep the easement clear.

The plaintiffs are seeking $8 million in property damages, and punitive damages against Bluebonnet in the amount of $16 million.

Personally, I have no problem with suing a power company if it can be proven that their negligence in failure to maintain a power line caused a fire. But suing a children’s camp too, because the power line went through their property? Really? How low can lawyers go?

A survey by Jobboom.com ranked the top 10 least trusted professions. Lawyer was number four, listed after used car salesman, politician, and mechanic, which were listed 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Power lines that are not properly maintained have been responsible for starting many large devastating fires, have killed people, and destroyed thousands of homes.

As we reported on October 30, San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) agreed to a settlement with the California Public Utilities Commission to pay $14.3 million for starting the Witch, Rice, and Guejito fires in eastern San Diego County in 2007. The company was also ordered by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to apologize to the PUC for obstruction of their wildfire investigations. The PUC earlier fined SDG&E $1 million for withholding information from the PUC about the Sunrise Powerlink proposal, where concerns about future wildfires were noted in many public comments against the proposal. SDG&E power lines have also started other large fires, including the 1970 Laguna fire which killed eight people and burned 175,000 acres between Mt. Laguna and El Cajon, California.

And on December 12 Wildfire Today told you that the City of San Francisco agreed to pay the federal government $7 million for two fires in 1999 and 2004 that burned 5,698 acres and were caused by their power lines.

Power lines in Australia

Some of the fires in Australia on Black Saturday last February were caused by power lines. The Age has an article about an investigation or Royal Commission that is studying those fires. Here is an excerpt.

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Stronger power line fire-safety strategies urged

DEATHS in bushfires that were caused by power lines showed a huge failure to regulate electricity companies, the Bushfires Royal Commission has heard.

Energy Safe Victoria, or a similar organisation, should be made explicitly responsible for fire-safety strategies for power lines, said Graeme Hodge, of Monash University.

Professor Hodge faced questioning over a claim in his statement that ”… most observers would argue [that], to the degree that some of the state’s bushfires were a consequence of Victoria’s electricity infrastructure, citizens suffered a significant regulatory failure … it has been the indirect safety concerns around electricity transmission and distribution systems that appear to have failed.”

Professor Hodge has a background in the regulation of utilities, particularly electricity. He told the inquiry there was a difference between passive and active regulation and that some systems ”appear to have regulatory strength but it’s a ritual that they are going through”.

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More articles about power lines and fire danger can be found by clicking on our “power line” tag.

Thanks Dick

The City of San Francisco has agreed to pay the federal government $7 million for two fires that burned 5,698 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest. The 1999 Pilot fire and the 2004 Early fire were caused by tree limbs being too close to high-voltage power lines.

The power lines come from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and power generating station near Yosemite National Park. In 1913, legislation granted the city a right of way for the hydroelectric system that delivers water and power to San Francisco.

The city’s Hetch Hetchy Water and Power company is responsible for maintaining a 10-foot clearance around the power line conductors. U. S. Forest Service fire investigators determined that the fires started from an electrical discharge from the power line to a cedar tree in the case of the Pilot fire, and an oak tree for the Early fire.

The city settled the lawsuit in order to avoid a trial. Regional Forester Randy Moore said some of the funds will be used for restoration.