power line Archives - Page 12 of 14

Downed power line kills over a dozen animals

BillNovember 3, 2009December 22, 2009Uncategorizedpower line

A power line that was hanging near the ground after being struck by a falling tree electrocuted over a dozen animals near Eureka in northwestern Montana over the last few months. Officials found the carcasses of five whitetail deer, four black bears, two wolves, one coyote, and a turkey vulture in the area.

The power company did not know about the problem with the line until the power went out on October 10. A biologist with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks thinks the deer probably walked into the line first and their carcasses attracted the predators, which were then electrocuted.

All of the animals were in various stages of decomposition except for a large dead wolf that was still warm when the power company crew arrived on the scene.

San Diego power company pays $14M to state for starting huge fires in 2007

BillOctober 30, 2009December 4, 2012Uncategorizedpower line, SDG&E

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) has 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. Cox Communications agreed to pay $2 million without admitting they started the Guejito fire.

Here is an excerpt from a report in the San Diego Union Tribune.

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San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications agreed Friday to pay $17 million to settle claims by state investigators that their shoddy maintenance led to three huge North County wildfires two years ago. SDG&E also apologized for obstructing investigators looking into the cause of the fires.

The companies did not admit fault for setting the fires, but said they would take steps to better maintain their lines and equipment. The settlement comes more than a year after investigators with the Public Utilities Commission concluded that power lines caused the Witch Creek, Guejito and Rice Canyon fires.

The fires burned more than 1,300 homes, killed two people and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands.

SDG&E agreed to pay $14.3 million to the state’s general fund and reimburse the PUC’s Consumer Protection and Safety Division up to $400,000 for a computer system designed to help investigate utility safety hazard incidents. The money will come out of SDG&Es profits, not from ratepayers.

As for the obstruction allegation, the company said it knows it has an “obligation and duty to respond promptly” when investigators need information and access to its workers. “SDG&E admits that its efforts fell short of meeting this obligation and duty in connection with the CPSD’s investigations into the Witch, Rice and Guejito fires and apologizes for permitting this to happen. SDG&E will conduct additional training in this area,” the company said in the settlement.

It also said it failed to file timely reports on the fires. In a statement, SDG&E President Debra Reed said the company wants to move on.

“We are settling this matter to put the issue behind us and avoid the costs and risks of further litigation,” she said. “As part of this settlement, we maintain that our system met all compliance and safety requirements, but we fell short of meeting our obligations with respect to three follow-up reports,” she said. She did not mention the apology.

Cox, meanwhile, agreed to pay $2 million to the general fund, without admitting that it caused the Guejito fire. Investigators said a Cox lashing wire came loose in high winds and caused arcing when it came in contact with an SDG&E power line.

“We believe that our line was properly maintained and intact prior to the Santa Ana winds in 2007, and did not cause the Guejito fire,” Cox said in a statement. “The CPUC has a long history of handling disputes through agreements, and we entered into this agreement in an effort to move forward and stay focused on the business of serving our customers and our community.”

The settlement does not affect the ongoing litigation in San Diego Superior Court in which hundreds of fire victims as well as governmental agencies are seeking damages from SDG&E. Earlier this year, SDG&E settled many claims, paying out more than $740 million to dozens of insurance companies seeking partial reimbursement for money they had already paid to clients.

However individual fire victims have yet to be compensated for losses beyond whatever insurance they may have had, and numerous governmental agencies such as CalFire and the city and county of San Diego are still trying to recover millions of dollars in fire fighting costs and other damages.

SDG&E has asked the PUC for permission to raise rates to pay for damages beyond what its insurance covers, and for higher insurance costs because of the fires. Lawyers involved in the case say it could still be years before the litigation ends.

SDG&E has not admitted responsibility for the fires. At some point a judge will have to schedule a trial or trials to determine whether SDG&E is liable.

Wildfire news, September 10, 2009

BillSeptember 10, 2009September 6, 2018Uncategorizedpower line, weather

It is a busy day in the world of wildland fire.

SDG&E’s proposal to turn off electricity is rejected

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday rejected the plan proposed by the San Diego Gas and Electric Company to turn off the power to large sections of the county during periods of high fire danger. The company’s power lines have caused numerous large fires over the last 40 years and critics have said the company thought it would be less expensive to turn off the power than to harden their infrastructure.

We have written about the power company’s proposal a number of times.

Drought in California

The USA Today has a story about the third year of a drought in California. Here is a brief quote:

California is in the third year of a drought that has contributed to extreme fire conditions. Fire officials say the lack of rain makes brush burn more easily. And when fire hits parched forests, the fire tends to burn faster and do more damage.

“You can have a fire go through the same area, and the damage to a forest is always more significant in drought years,” says Del Walters, director of CalFire. Trees and logs burn hotter and more completely in droughts, he said, and their heat kills nearby trees that might otherwise survive.

Ex-FEMA chief gets a job

Remember “You’re doing a heck-of-a-job Brownie”? Michael Brown who was run out of the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the hurricane Katrina debacle, has been hired by Cold Creek Solutions to be their vice president of its disaster recovery practice, the company said on Thursday.

Cold Creek Solutions is quoted as saying:

With Michael’s experience and his unique view into what possibly could go wrong when looking at a plan, we can truly help clients be prepared for the unexpected.”

Seriously. No shit. (Note to self: do NOT buy any stock in Cold Creek Solutions.)

NASA (mostly) evacuated the JPL during the Station fire

The Station fire came within one-eighth of a mile of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles. They do a lot more than just study jet propulsion there, they manage the Deep Space Operations Center which controls spacecraft that are whizzing around our solar system. At one point all but essential personnel were evacuated, but, according to a NASA news release…

Two of the five Deep Space Network operators on weekend duty were sent to Monrovia, but three volunteered to stay at the control center at JPL, to ensure systems continued to operate normally, to keep connections open with the flight projects, and to maintain the flow of engineering and science data to flight projects and scientists around the globe.

The three who stayed at JPL – along with about 40 other mission-critical personnel at any given time – were told not to spend much time outside. Hodder called frequently to check on the health of the crew and to obtain status reports on the network.

On Saturday afternoon, Sible and Hodder were ready to pull out those remaining three operators and put further communications with the network on hold if the fire reached the Mesa, a flat helipad and testing site at the northern edge of JPL.

That afternoon, the fire burned to within an eighth of a mile of the northern border of the lab. Emergency managers told staff to be ready to evacuate in 30 minutes.

Thankfully, with fire department handcrews cutting firebreaks, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft dropping water and flame retardant, and the wind shifting, the danger passed on Saturday night. An unpleasant haze of smoke settled on the lab, but the air had cleared enough for the network operators in Monrovia to return to JPL Monday evening. The rest of JPL opened as usual on Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.

In the end, the Deep Space Network was able to complete its 182 scheduled uploading and downloading sessions with spacecraft over the weekend without interruption.

Reward for Station fire arsonist

A reward of $150,000 is being offered for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for setting the 160,000-acre Station fire.

More about fuel management and fire prevention

I have probably already given researcher Jon Keeley more attention than he deserves, such this article. He has a theory that says it is unlikely that age class manipulation of fuels can prevent large fires. He is featured in an article written by Judith Lewis in the High Country News.

Thanks Dick and Kelly

SDG&E to replace some wooden power poles

Bill GabbertAugust 29, 2009December 4, 2012Uncategorizedpower line, SDG&E

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) is hoping to receive approval of their plan to turn off the electricity to large sections of San Diego County during periods of high fire danger. Some have complained that this is primarily a strategy that is less expensive than to harden their infrastructure against strong winds.

But they are taking a small step in the right direction, in that they are replacing some of their wooden power poles with steel poles. They already have about 700 steel poles and expect to replace 1,200 wooden poles in 2009. Ultimately they have plans to replace some poles in the communities of Alpine, Valley Center, Escondido, El Cajon, and Bonita.

That is the good news. The rest of the story is that they have 75,000 wooden poles in areas defined as “high” and “very high” fire risk by CalFire. At the current rate of replacement, all of those wooden poles would be replaced by 2071.

California state regulators halt power company’s power shutoff plan

Bill GabbertAugust 20, 2009December 4, 2012Uncategorizedpower line, SDG&E

The California Public Utilities Commission issued a temporary order blocking the plan by San Diego Gas and Electric to preemptively shut off the electricity for up to 150,000 people at a time when the fire danger meets their predetermined criteria. SDG&E had expected to implement the plan on September 1, but the commission put a halt to it at least until they can meet on September 10.

The power company has said shutting off the electricity during dry and windy conditions would prevent fires that could be started by their power lines. Many groups are opposed to the plan, including schools, water districts, and disabled people who rely on life-sustaining equipment. One study found that there are 900 people in the affected area with chronic medical problems. Of those, 590 rely on electrical equipment for thier well being.

SDG&E’s outage plan