LOS ANGELES — California’s biggest utility admitted its electrical equipment may have ignited a ruinous wildfire spreading over the state’s wine country Friday, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent blazes.
The disclosure came as firefighters simultaneously battled flames in both Northern and Southern California: the fire amid Sonoma County’s vineyards, and a wind-whipped blaze that destroyed homes near Los Angeles.
The fire near the Northern California town of Geyserville burned at least 49 buildings and 34 square miles (65 square kilometers) and prompted evacuation orders for some 2,000 people.
www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/pge-admits-it-may-have-been-responsible-for-igniting-california-fire
PG&E’s CEO has said it will take about a decade before widespread outages aren’t necessary.
PG&E began resorting to large-scale shut-offs after its equipment was blamed for several blazes in recent years that killed scores of people, burned thousands of homes and ran up billions of dollars in claims that drove the utility into bankruptcy, where it is still trying to put its finances in order.
Amid unprecedented power outages implemented in an effort to avert wildfires sparked by their power lines, Pacific Gas & Electric has admitted in federal court that its equipment probably caused 10 wildfires this year in Northern and Central California.
However, PG&E said Thursday it didn’t de-energize a 230,000-volt transmission line near Geyserville that malfunctioned minutes before the fire erupted.
The utility reported finding a “broken jumper” wire on a transmission tower Wednesday night.
A broken PG&E wire was found near where the Kincade Fire started, California utility says
Although PG&E had cut power on some lines in the area Wednesday afternoon because of concern over threatening weather, the utility said had kept the power flowing on that particular stretch of high-voltage transmission lines, which carry electricity from the power plant to various substations, because winds there had not triggered shutdown protocols.
Amid unprecedented power outages implemented in an effort to avert wildfires sparked by their power lines, Pacific Gas & Electric has admitted in federal court that its equipment probably caused 10 wildfires this year in Northern and Central California.
Very well informed video by one of my favorite YTers who was affected by the blackouts. The whole situation reeks. Looks like they’re pushing microgrids to regulate/restrict individual power consumption. Now I see why every new home built in Commifornia is legally required to have solar panels.
h/t kpm