Posted on 10/10/2017 10:11:55 PM PDT by 11th_VA
As the first reports came in Sunday night of numerous fires that would grow into one of the most destructive wildfire disasters in California history, emergency dispatchers in Sonoma County received multiple calls of power lines falling down and electrical transformers exploding.
In all, according to a review of emergency radio traffic by the Bay Area News Group, Sonoma County dispatchers sent out fire crews to at least 10 different locations across the county over a 90-minute period starting at 9:22 pm to respond to 911 calls and other reports of sparking wires and problems with the county’s electrical system amid high winds.
State fire officials said Tuesday that they are still investigating the cause of the blazes, which as of late Tuesday had killed 17 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Sonoma, Napa and other Northern California counties.
But the reports of the power equipment failures began to turn the spotlight on PG&E, the giant San Francisco-based utility, raising questions about how well it maintained its equipment in the area and whether it adequately cut back trees from power lines to reduce fire risk — as required by state law ...
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
It’s hard to believe that at least 10 different locations would have issues all on the same night just because of lax maintenance. One, okay. Even two would be a big coincidence.
Maybe they need to consider sabotage. And I’m not a conspiracy theorist.
Maybe 60-70mph winds might account for it, too.
Blame it on overhead wiring.
The Las Conchas Fire in 2011 in New Mexico was tarted by a downed powerline hitting a tree. Burned 150,000 acres in the Jemez mountains and near Los Alamos. I had a great view of it from the deck of my home.
It was awful.
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In all of this, I wouldn't overlook the fact that California has some stringent rules regarding the removal of dead trees from federal and state lands. Thank you enviro wackos.
If PG&E wasn’t clearing their Right of Way properly, a decent amount of winds can cause the lines to sway far enough to contact trees in several places in the same day. Large lines can sway as much as 70’ from side to side. Most days they won’t sway so much, but when a strong wind comes, several trees can suddenly be within reach in many places.
Overhead wires with over grown trees. I tried telling folks this on MOnday as I was listening to the scanner reports in Butte COunty as we were under mandatory evac. Power lines my friends were the cause, not sabotage or antifa or isis or arson. Though there was one nut that set a fire yesterday in Sonoma county..limited to one acre. Caught him I think... The winds were furious. Red Alerts again until THursday afternoon.
12 Sept: Science Magazine: Who is starting all those wildfires? We are By Warren Cornwall
Nationwide, humans are responsible for starting 84% of wildfires, according to a paper co-authored by Balch, published this past March in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In California, the eastern United States, and the coastal Northwest, people are behind more than 90% of wildfires. And, by starting so many fires, humans are essentially lengthening the fire season, into times of the year when natural causes—such as lightning—don’t play a major role...
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/who-starting-all-those-wildfires-we-are
10 Oct: WHNT19: Why wildfires are so common in California
The combination of California’s climatology and terrain make it a common victim of destructive forest fires...
While these factors make California more susceptible to fires the number one cause of forest fires is human activity. Up to 90% of forest fires across the country are traced back to human activity
http://whnt.com/2017/10/10/why-wildfires-are-so-common-in-california/
10 Oct: ABC America: Dan Noyes: Officials say it’s like that North Bay fires were caused by man, I-Team interviews Cal Fire Director
10 Oct: NBC Bay Area: Noreen O’Donnell: California Fire Experts to Probe Why 17 Fires Erupted in Just 24 Hours
One expert said falling power lines and arson are being considered as causes
Especially when it’s hot and lots of air conditioners are running. The lines heat up and sag, sometimes right into the trees.
Yup. That's what I was telling my wife yesterday. Had to be wires, what with hurricane-force winds all around the Bay Area that night. It was really blowing outside. There have been times PG&E workers came around to inspect my trees to make sure they were clear of electric lines in my back yard. But do they clear their right of way everywhere, maybe not.
Some people reported meteor sightings a few hours before fire reported. There’s a Youtube video of one meteor coming down in that area. Maybe wind, maybe meteor (s)? New Hampshire had a fire as a result of a meteor last week. Just sayin’.
I once lived where PGE was the electricity provider and every time the wind blew or it rained real hard the power would go out.
Another lawsuit for a public utility, which the taxpayer and customers will play for....
You do know that the winds were gusting to 60mph right?
This is the cause of the fires.
People had died from these fires and if you or I would have caused it we would be going to prison but these big companies will get a slap on the wrist with a fine which their insurance will pay and yes Commiefornia's rates will go up some but mostly the insurance company (which is probably has board of directors from PG&E on it) will push the hike out to other little people.
That is way the game is played. Spread the PB&J out over the bread but do not let it drip on you.
It’s been my experience that trees sway more than power lines during high wind. But then again I don’t go out in storms and stand under power lines eying them for movement.
During Irma our power was out for two days because our power is via poles for miles. The night the hurricane hit we could see the power going off in different areas and see how the power company was re-routing to keep our larger service area supplied. Imo they made a valiant effort but our local grid gave up the ghost in the early morning hours. Interestingly, a small subdivision near my had been shut off early in the night and when our grid finally went down theirs came back on and stayed on. Imo the supply was deteriorated and that was the only service area they could keep online.
I have a generator so it wasn’t a big deal to be out for 2 days.
From my observation, much of California is a tinder box. I’m not surprised by the fires so much as that the fires are not more extensive
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