It’s too early to know what started the fires burning in and around Los Angeles, but investigators will most likely examine whether power lines were involved.
Fierce winds have been blowing through Southern California, snapping trees and branches, including those near power poles and other electrical equipment. Dry vegetation can quickly ignite when it comes into contact with live power lines.
The two largest utilities in the area, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison, on Wednesday said they did not have any equipment issues related to the wildfires to report.
“Our efforts are focused on safety and restoring power to our customers,” said Jessica Johnson, a spokeswoman for the city’s water and power department, which serves the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. “There is still an active fire in the Palisades and we do not have information to report on.”
Strong winds did prompt Edison and another utility, San Diego Gas & Electric, to begin cutting power to customers to reduce the risk of fires caused by their equipment. Edison, which had cut power to more than 150,000 customers, said it expected to continue electricity shut-offs through Friday.
The utility said restoration of power depended on weather conditions and inspection of power lines for safety.
“Our top concern right now is the safety of our customers, crew members and emergency personnel,” said David Eisenhauer, a spokesman for Edison.
Power lines and other utility equipment have sparked some of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, including the deadly Camp Fire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.
Regardless of whether power lines were involved in the current fires, they should be buried to reduce the risk of infernos, said Najmedin Meshkati, an engineering professor at the University of Southern California and an expert in disaster response.
“I think we have enough data points from the past, the Camp fire, the Maui fire,” Mr. Meshkati said in an interview on Wednesday. “If it was caused by power lines or not caused by power lines, that still won’t change the major hypothesis that we need to bring the power lines underground. I know it costs a lot of money but that’s the only solution.”
Last year, the state’s investor-owned utilities reported four incidents related to wildfires and their equipment, including two by Southern California Edison. The most recent event involving Edison’s equipment occurred in November in connection with the Mountain Fire that burned more than 19,000 acres in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles.
Edison noted in a report to its main regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission, that the company had submitted an incident report out of an abundance of caution.
“To date, no fire agency has suggested that SCE’s electric facilities were involved in the ignition or requested the removal and retention of any SCE equipment,” the utility said in the Nov. 12 report.
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