PG&E says that it spent nearly $200 million in 2016 on aerial inspections of poles, lines and tree-trimming.Ĭritics, however, say that bigger fixes are needed. After nearly a decade of work, the Public Utilities Commission is finally completing its mapping project aimed at showing where power lines pose the greatest wildfire danger, which will help them plan and deploy resources. While the cause of the Wine Country blazes remains under investigation, a review of emergency radio traffic by the Bay Area News Group showed that in the first hours of the fires, Sonoma County dispatchers sent out fire crews to at least 10 different locations to respond to 911 reports of sparking wires and problems with the county’s electrical system.Ĭalifornia regulators and utilities say they’re striving to reduce risk. A branch that’s tossed on a group of wires can close a circuit and spontaneously ignite. High winds can cause lines to slap together, making them arc and spark. A falling tree can tear down a line, electrifying nearby vegetation. Power lines are responsible for about 9 percent of California wildfires. When they do cause problems, typically in high-wind events, the fires turn deadly quickly because they spread so fast. They’ve caused four of the 20 largest fires in California history. But wind changes everything: Exposed lines ignite wind-tossed branches. In calm weather, power lines are insulated by at least several feet of air. Those potential solutions - while pricier than tree-trimming - are well within reach for one of the world’s most advanced and innovative economies, experts say. We could also turn off power during dangerous weather, or install new tech tools to detect incipient line failure. The obvious solutions include undergrounding more wires or better insulating them, in addition to retiring old wooden poles. Improvements have been too slow,” said electrical engineer Massoud Amin, director of the Technological Leadership Institute in Minnesota, who studies safe infrastructures.

With downed power lines now under scrutiny as the suspected source of the devastating Wine Country fires, many experts say the country’s electrical grid is due for a costly overhaul, making it safer and more reliable in our increasingly digital world.

Trial begins for man accused of igniting massive 2018 California wildfire

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