[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

From what I have read, they are doing this during certain weather conditions to keep lines from blowing down and causing wildfires, right? If that “works,” does that mean they’ll be doing this from now on, or is there another fix for the problem?

[nuconvert]

The fix for the problem is replacing all the old lines & equipment which will take years & years.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

High winds cause high voltage transmission lines to "gallop" or swing wildly. If they contact each other or contact nearby trees, sparks fall and set fires. It really isn't a problem of the lines falling down (at least until the fires burn the poles and the distribution lines come down).

Interestingly, investigations show a lot of the recent forest fires were caused by power lines on private land, not by PG&E transmission lines.

The fix is more aggressive tree-trimming so lines don't contact trees. I'm not sure why the budgeting isn't adequate to trim adequately. I'd guess that too much money is being spent on renewables, but the money for generation and T&D are from different companies that don't compete.

What a scary job piloting that helo! Not a lot of room for error.

YouTube video: Trimming trees by power line with helicopter

[steve86]

The fix is simply to clear overgrowth alongside the lines - like utilities do all over the world — but California environmental laws won’t let them do that.

[Tammy8]

The real fix for the problem is to clear brush, thin trees so they will be healthy...when trees are crowded they don’t grow right- think toothpicks right next to each other which leads to disease and insect infestation. When a fire happens it is not a normal fire with the excess brush and sick trees for fuel...it becomes an inferno. The environmental groups sue the government and when judges side with them they are in charge of managing public lands instead of agencies that are supposed to. This is not just an issue in CA it is throughout the SW and the reason we have inferno fires now.

California has the added issue that they got state laws changed too so now there are many regulations on private property owners as to if they are allowed to clear brush and how much they are allowed to clear on their own property. So in CA it is both public and private land that is a fire hazard.

Socialists can’t manage land any better than they do other things. After the last (or one recent) fire was blamed on utility company instead of the socialists bad land management the utility company said well we will shut of the power when fire danger is high.