2 Electric Companies May Be To Blame For The Wildfires

buzzfeed goes into some detail about these power-company caused fires
California Power Companies Reported Outages Just Minutes Before The Deadly Wildfires Began

And, according to the LA Times the now PG&E is being sued by the victims of the fire[s]
Residents who lost homes in Camp fire sue PG&E

PG&E did not maintain its infrastructure and failed to properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines, according to the lawsuit filed in state court by more than two dozen fire victims.

The fire, which has killed at least 48 people and devastated the Northern California town of Paradise, was a “direct and legal result of the negligence, carelessness, recklessness, and/or unlawfulness” of PG&E, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the plaintiffs' losses and unspecified damages.

Nah, this is all Trump's fault, Hollywood celebrities told me so.

originally posted by: MissSmartypants

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: MissSmartypants

Even if the powerlines caused the fires, I'm not sure "blame" is the right word.

Equipment failures happen and PG&E has a lot of equipment.

Considering what they should have learned from the previous incidents and knowing that possible tragedy could have been prevented simply by shutting off power (to albeit wealthy neighborhoods) until the danger no longer existed I'm not sure you're point is valid...this time.

Im positive it isnt, but as long as its contrary, thats all that matters.

Good to find out it was plain ole negligence and not space lasers from China anyway.

Nice post.

originally posted by: Phage
Interestingly, a good way to prevent damage to the grid during a severe geomagnetic storm would be to turn off the system. But that too, would piss off a lot of people. Millions of them.

To hell with the families of those burned alive.

Must placate the millions of whiney living Californians at ANY cost.

originally posted by: Urantia1111

originally posted by: Phage
Interestingly, a good way to prevent damage to the grid during a severe geomagnetic storm would be to turn off the system. But that too, would piss off a lot of people. Millions of them.

To hell with the families of those burned alive.

Must placate the millions of whiney living Californians at ANY cost.

As I explained earlier my family was without power for 7 days following hurricane Isabel...and it wasn't in order to save lives...yet we still managed to endure the inconvenience. Nor did we have the financial means to simply stay somewhere else.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
buzzfeed goes into some detail about these power-company caused fires
California Power Companies Reported Outages Just Minutes Before The Deadly Wildfires Began

And, according to the LA Times the now PG&E is being sued by the victims of the fire[s]
Residents who lost homes in Camp fire sue PG&E

PG&E did not maintain its infrastructure and failed to properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines, according to the lawsuit filed in state court by more than two dozen fire victims.

The fire, which has killed at least 48 people and devastated the Northern California town of Paradise, was a “direct and legal result of the negligence, carelessness, recklessness, and/or unlawfulness” of PG&E, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the plaintiffs' losses and unspecified damages.

Perhaps there should be crews whose sole job is to continually clear brush from around power lines. But what do I know.

originally posted by: DoctorBluechip
So it's not because some fiery sinkholes have quietly opened up by the coast over there ?

I don't believe that's been ruled out yet so let me be the first.

a reply to: Fools

Yeah, that rings a bell, I think that was up north maybe. Here we have to have brush clearance 200ft around our home or it will literally be left to burn in favor of homesites that are cleared. I'll have to look into that.

As for the pensions, it's an issue but I'm torn. I personally know a lot of our local fire guys and I don't begrudge them a single penny because they kick ass. On the other hand you have a lot of shenanigans in other areas. So what's the solution? I don't know. I personally want quality folks Fighting our fires, policing our streets and teaching our kids.

All of these are thankless jobs and with no incentive you end up with the scammers/idiots/useless or evil pos is my belief. So they need to make it so bad teachers/cops/FF can be fired more easily for NOT being kick ass at their jobs ya know? Tenure for instance needs an overhaul so our kids aren't graduating with what in my day was a 4th grade education. Never happen here in California though, too many "everyone gets a trophy" people in charge and voting.

originally posted by: Lilroanie
a reply to: Fools

Yeah, that rings a bell, I think that was up north maybe. Here we have to have brush clearance 200ft around our home or it will literally be left to burn in favor of homesites that are cleared. I'll have to look into that.

As for the pensions, it's an issue but I'm torn. I personally know a lot of our local fire guys and I don't begrudge them a single penny because they kick ass. On the other hand you have a lot of shenanigans in other areas. So what's the solution? I don't know. I personally want quality folks Fighting our fires, policing our streets and teaching our kids.

All of these are thankless jobs and with no incentive you end up with the scammers/idiots/useless or evil pos is my belief. So they need to make it so bad teachers/cops/FF can be fired more easily for NOT being kick ass at their jobs ya know? Tenure for instance needs an overhaul so our kids aren't graduating with what in my day was a 4th grade education. Never happen here in California though, too many "everyone gets a trophy" people in charge and voting.

I suspect that first responders and fire fighters must have been born with a bit of angel blood mixed in. How do you even begin to put a price on the service they provide to humanity?

Perhaps there should be crews whose sole job is to continually clear brush from around power lines. But what do I know.

We have that here and they clear all year round but the rich fight to keep from trimming the trees and brush by their homes. Then when the power goes out they are the first to complain and sue. I'm sure out there the tree huggers have everybody's hands tied.

originally posted by: mikell

Perhaps there should be crews whose sole job is to continually clear brush from around power lines. But what do I know.

We have that here and they clear all year round but the rich fight to keep from trimming the trees and brush by their homes. Then when the power goes out they are the first to complain and sue. I'm sure out there the tree huggers have everybody's hands tied.

I learned something interesting the other day regarding celebrities using private fire fighters to save their homes. Well, it seems that what's really going on is that these homes and their contents are insured for such large amounts that it's cheaper for the insurance companies to station a private fire truck outside the property 24/7 to extinguish the fires rather than have to pay out the claim.

I don't know if you used the quote function but it seems to have a little glitch in it at the moment.

a reply to: MissSmartypants

Around here they have nothing but grass growing for many yards on both sides of the towers.....and they cut the grass.

But I think the terrain here is not nearly as rugged as the hills and mountains of California.
I bet they are also a lot taller than what we have here.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: MissSmartypants

Around here they have nothing but grass growing for many yards on both sides of the towers.....and they cut the grass.

But I think the terrain here is not nearly as rugged as the hills and mountains of California.
I bet they are also a lot taller than what we have here.

Well...other than laying a concrete swath underneath the electrical towers (which probably isn't feasible given the terrain) the only other solution seems to be to preemptively shut off power to any areas at risk for as long as necessary...forcing people to decide if living there is worth the inconvenience they will have to endure...the same as people who choose to live along the oceanfront in hurricane prone areas have to do. For example in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia where I live.