The fires in California are not caused by wind. The fires needed a spark.
The world is watching as:
“the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet.” Gov. Newsom
…fights to defeat the California fires, which some say were likely caused by “line slapping” or neglected utilities. I am inclined to question the oversight of California’s public utilities by the California Public Utilities Commission, which seems to be hiding behind the scapegoat of Mayor Karen Bass; after all, the shield of the California Public Utilities Commission is Governor Newsom.
The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) mission reads: “We empower California through access to safe, clean, and affordable utility services and infrastructure.” Safe? I Dissent.
Recently, The media has been focusing a lot on the lack of water, looting, celebrity GoFundMe, arsonists, etc. While this is all fascinating and friendly for mass consumption, I am perplexed by the term hidden behind the media’s wall of news, “line slapping.” California has a long history of failing to oversee its public utilities. Post destruction, the CPUC slaps the utilities hands, and the fires rage on.
On November 22, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Alice Busching Reynolds to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as President. President Reynolds is what some might call a “climate activist.” Reynolds served as the Governor’s senior advisor for climate, the environment, and energy. Reynolds previously served as chief counsel and deputy secretary for law enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency. President Reynolds began public service in 2002 as a deputy attorney general in the California Attorney General’s Office, where she litigated cases surrounding the protection of public trust lands, appearing as an expert on preserving land also litigated cases involving coastal resources/public access, as well as other environmental issues. Before entering public service, President Reynolds was a lawyer in private practice in San Francisco. All signs point to the ecological political/legal circles surrounding Governor Newsom.
When Reynolds became president of the California Public Utilities Commission, she accepted the role of ensuring that all of California had access to safe, clean, and affordable utilities. Reynolds sits at the helm of the mission declared by her department. So, she should consider the risks and learn from the past.
The Woolsey Fire began on Nov. 8th, 2018, in Los Angeles, according to the Woolsey Fire Report published by the California Public Utilities Commission, the investigation determined:
“a loose transmission down guy wire attached to pole number 4534353E (the “Steel Pole”) contacted an Edison 16 kV jumper wire and caused an arc flash between them. The arc flash caused hot metal fragments to drop to the ground, igniting the brush below.”
“In addition, the contact caused the steel pole to become energized, thus energizing all guy wires attached to it. Among these guy wires was a distribution down guy wire that was in contact with an Edison Carrier Solutions (ECS) messenger wire on a wooden pole nearby. This messenger wire also became energized and went on to transmit the power to a second ignition site…”.
“Trees in this area had been growing into the communication conductors between these poles and pressing them together. This overgrowth caused the energized messenger wire and its lashing wire to make contact with another messenger wire and its lashing in the same span. The contact between the two sets of wires caused an arc, which partially melted the lashing wires and caused hot fragments of lashing wire to fall into the brush below.”
The investigation uncovered an astounding twenty-six violations pertaining to Minimum Clearances of Wires from Other Wires, Conductors Passing Supply Poles and Unattached Exposed Cables and Messengers, Messengers of Different Pole Line Systems, Design, Construction, and Maintenance. Basic Minimum Allowable Clearances of Wires Above Railroads, Thoroughfares, Ground or Water Surfaces, etc., Vegetation Management, Inspection of Lines, and failing to cooperate with Commission Staff.
The Woolsey Fire burned 96,949 acres, destroyed 1,643 structures, damaged hundreds of buildings, left 3 fatalities, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. Property damage was estimated to be approximately $6 billion. After the flames were contained, the utility Southern California Edison (SCE), overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), acknowledged that its equipment was likely associated with the ignition of the fire.
The Los Angeles County and several other entities filed lawsuits against SCE. The County, with a vast coalition of public agencies, then negotiated a settlement in November 2019; Southern California Edison paid a total of $210 million. The County received $64.2 million in the settlement. A slap on the wrist of a company with current total assets estimated at $81.8 billion.
As the Woolsey fire raged around Los Angeles on November 8th, 2018, another fire was underway in northern California. The Camp Fire also began on November 8th, 2018, and at the time, was the Deadliest Fire in California history. According to the Butte County Camp Fire Report, 84 lives were lost. The investigation determined:
“The ground under what was PG&E’s (Pacific Gas & Electric Company) transmission tower Number 27/222 showed clear signs of the fire’s beginning and a burnt path toward the southwest. Looking up, the investigators saw a detached line hanging down into the steel superstructure of the high-voltage transmission tower.
Something had broken — and sent the live 115 kilovolt (kV) power line (also known as a conductor) to arc against the steel tower and shower molten steel and aluminum metal onto the grass and brush below.”
ABC 10 reported:
“PG&E later pleaded guilty to 85 felonies for recklessly sparking the fire, which destroyed Paradise, California in the largest mass homicide committed by a corporation in the United States.”
Of the victims who lost their lives, more than 50% were over the age of 70, with several in their 90s. The Camp Fire burned 153,336 acres, displaced more than 50,000 people, and destroyed over 18,000 structures, causing an estimated $16.5 billion in damage.
California leadership appears to have learned nothing in the wake of its public utilities killing innocent lives. On July 13th, 2021, the Dixie Fire in Butte County, California, began. The investigation determined:
“the fire was caused by a tree contacting electrical distribution lines owned and operated by PG&E.
“The tree fell and hit the lines, which caused two of the three lines to become electrically connected, resulting in a phase-to-phase fault.
“Even though two fuses operated and deenergized the lines, the third conductor remained energized and in contact with the tree, which caused a high-impedance fault. The energized line in contact with the tree eventually started a fire.”
According to the California Public Utilities Commission & Safety and Enforcement Division Wildfire Safety and Enforcement Division’s report:
“The fire ignited as a result of a 65’ tall, damaged and decayed Douglas fir tree when it fell and contacted conductors at approximately 6:48 AM. Two of the three fuses blew (opened) upon initial contact with the conductors, but the third fuse remained closed and kept a line energized. The tree being in contact with energized conductors and the ground created a high impedance fault. The high impedance fault energized the tree, which caused heat and arcing to ignite a dry and receptive fuel bed over the course of 10 hours.”
The investigation found that PG&E violated countless requirements of the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) General Orders:
PG&E failed to complete the Electric Overhead Tag within the required deadline.
PG&E failed to maintain records showing the correct vegetation inspection date.
PG&E failed to maintain complete records from its 2019 vegetation management routine inspection.
PG&E failed to identify the tree on the line, which was observable from Cresta Dam.
PG&E failed to maintain its 12 kV overhead conductors safely and properly by failing to identify a hazardous tree condition and not taking appropriate steps to prevent the Subject Tree from striking the overhead conductors.
In the aftermath, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a $45M penalty for PG&E over the 2021 Dixie Fire.
Weather reports ahead of January 7th, 2024, began citing unprecedented high winds were to arrive in the Los Angeles area; I would have to assume that the news reached President Reynolds at the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco and the office of Governor Newsom in Sacramento. President Reynolds and Governor Newsom are not ignorant of the risk of “Line Slap” or “Line Slapping” and trees falling as it pertains to a leading cause of California wildfires. In fact, if you visit the website of the Public Utilities Commission’s search page and type “line slap” or “line slapping” into the public search engine, it generates the terms 444 times, “trees falling” generated 6,236 results. Line slap or line slapping is the result of power lines literally touching one another, causing a fire accelerant or spark to jump from the lines to the ground below.
On the 27th of October 2019, Gov. Newsom signed a Proclamation of State Emergency, which explicitly acknowledged line slapping.
“WHEREAS damage to electrical power lines during high wind events, including tree branches falling on lines, downed power lines, line slapping and other equipment failures, have ignited the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfires; and
WHEREAS electrical utilities, including Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric, have independently decided to engage in de-energization of their power lines, known as a Public Safety Power Shutoff or PSPS; and
WHEREAS these Public Safety Power Shutoffs have resulted or will likely result in more than one million customers without electricity, including, but not limited to, households, businesses, public facilities, medical care facilities, schools, and critical infrastructure; and
WHEREAS the utilities’ independent decision to engage in a widespread preemptive de-energization of power lines in response to this extreme weather event has resulted in significant and complex challenges for state and local governments to maintain public safety and essential services, and to mitigate impacts on vulnerable populations and critical infrastructure;”
It’s no mystery that politicians seldom favor power shut-offs; in fact, Gov. Newsom once said,
Unprecedented wind speeds were widely reported before the Los Angeles fires began on January 7th, 2024, compiled with a very clear history of the negligence by the California Public Utilities Commission to monitor and code enforce public utilities and Governor Newsom’s statement on power shut-offs, common sense would point to incoming disaster.
To see the magnitude of how unsafe California’s public utilities are, type “utility incident reports” into the California Public Utilities Commission’s search bar. The 10,992 results are undoubtedly very telling.
Given the history of California fires caused by public utilities’ failure to comply with the California Public Utilities Commission codes, I suggest that Governor Newsom and President Reynolds, who heads the CPUC mission of safety, force utility compliance or force the utilities to shut power via a Public Safety Power Shut Off during unprecedented winds. I encourage those who agree to file a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission.
Many people in California must resign, but I see that Governor Newsom and President Reynolds of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) hold the greatest negligence. Not too long ago, In 2021, former CPUC executive director Alice Stebbins said,
“We do whatever the governor tells us to do, period,” “You don’t do anything without [Gov. Newsom’s] staff reviewing it or talking to you or approving it. And that’s the way it was.”
We’d like to thank Niko Roswell for this state house update. As a reminder, authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers. Submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com
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