The Crush - November 2019 - 4

[ STATE FOCUS ]

Wildfires and Planned Power Outages

GOVERNOR HAS PASSED ADMIN INITIATIVES, BILLS AND BUDGET ITEMS, BUT MORE TO DO
By Michael Miiller
In late October, when Gov. Newsom addressed the media
to provide an update on the tragic wildfires, his voice was
noticeably strained. This was in part because he had already
provided several updates and media interviews in the last week.
The strain in his voice also spoke to his incredible frustration
with utility companies.
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) or Southern California Edison
(SCE) power lines have been identified as the likely cause for the
following fires in 2017 and 2018:
* At least 17 wildfires in wine country in October 2017, including
two blazes that resulted in 13 fatalities.
* The 2017 Thomas fire that burned in Santa Barbara and
Ventura counties and was followed by deadly mudslides in
Montecito.
* The 2018 Woolsey fire, which destroyed 1,643 structures,
killed three people and prompted the evacuation of more than
295,000 people in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
* The November 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, which killed
86 people and destroyed more than 10,000 homes in Paradise.
As a direct result of this deadly problem, the California
Legislature passed legislation in 2018 that in part funded efforts
to clear brush and trees near powerlines while requiring the
utilities to better maintain those lines and to shut off power in
red flag situations.
Even with those changes in law, California is again faced with
catastrophic wildfires this year. Fires that may have been sparked
by the grid:
* PG&E states a broken jumper wire was found on a
transmission tower near where the Kincade Fire broke out in
Northern California wine country. The fire has burned an area
of nearly 78,000 acres, or 121 square miles, and destroyed 374
structures (174 homes).
* SCE reports that a transmission line was active at the time
the Easy Fire broke out in Simi Valley, as utility and arson
investigators are trying to determine the source of the blaze.
Over two days, the fire scorched more than 1,800 acres while
threatening thousands of homes and the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Library.
* PG&E equipment has also been linked to three smaller fires in
Contra Costa County, two in Lafayette and one near Oakley.
4 / NOVEMBER 2019

Clearly the red flag power
shutoffs - Public Safety Power
Shutoff (PSPS) - are not working
as envisioned in preventing
fires. PSPS blackouts are also
creating a host of problems:
* Landline phones may
not work, reducing the
effectiveness of the reverse
911 evacuation warning
system.
* Schools, hospitals and vital services are all left in the dark.
* Air Quality Index monitors are not operational, so employers
don't have critical information needed to protect workers from
wildfire smoke.
* Zero emission vehicles typically don't operate when they have
no power.
* Refrigerated medicine and food are lost at an incredible cost to
people who may not be able to afford it.
It is no wonder that Californians, Newsom and lawmakers are
incredibly frustrated. "PG&E failed to maintain its infrastructure
and Californians are facing hardship as a result. For decades,
they have placed greed before public safety," Newsom said.
This year, the governor advanced nine administrative initiatives,
signed 14 bills and funded 12 budget items to deal with this
situation. Yet there is so much more to do.
On Nov. 1, Newsom announced an increased effort to achieve
"fundamental change to PG&E" and "ensure the overly broad
application of PSPS will never happen again." Well over 2 million
Californians and more than 1 million homes and businesses have
been affected by PSPS blackouts in 2019.
Carine Hines, a farmer in Yolo County's Capay Valley, recently
penned an editorial for the New York Times. She wrote that for
many California farmers, power outages mean potentially losing
everything.
Hines concluded, "Cutting down oak trees and turning off the
power are short-term solutions with long-term effects. Are we so
shortsighted that we cannot spend the extra dime now to protect
California's people and ecosystems for generations to come?
Infrastructure overhaul is expensive and time-consuming, but the
last time I checked it was one thing people from both sides of the
aisle agreed on."

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article236843293.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/no-criminal-charges-for-pge-in-2017-wine-country-wildfires-in-calif.html https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-thomas-fire-edison-cause-20190313-story.html https://www.dailynews.com/2019/10/29/edison-equipment-started-deadly-woolsey-fire-in-2018-report-says/ https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article235956042.html https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/25/governor-newsom-launches-75-million-program-for-state-and-local-governments-to-mitigate-impacts-of-power-shutoffs/ https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/25/governor-newsom-launches-75-million-program-for-state-and-local-governments-to-mitigate-impacts-of-power-shutoffs/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-wildfire/california-wildfires-force-evacuations-cause-power-outages-idUSKBN1X30Y7 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-wildfire/california-wildfires-force-evacuations-cause-power-outages-idUSKBN1X30Y7 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/opinion/pg-and-e-power-farmers.html https://www.ktla.com/2019/10/31/simi-valley-blaze-evacuation-orders-school-closures-remain-in-place-as-battle-against-easy-fire-continues/ https://www.ktla.com/2019/10/31/simi-valley-blaze-evacuation-orders-school-closures-remain-in-place-as-battle-against-easy-fire-continues/ https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article236841498.html https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article236841498.html

The Crush - November 2019

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