NBC

Deadly Northern California Wildfires Reignite Concerns about Power Lines in San Diego County

Sparking power lines led to the devastating 2007 wildfires, and now investigators are looking into whether they played a role in the wine country fires

The deadly wildfires in Northern California, along with San Diego's hot, dry weather, have many concerned about another major wildfire in the county.

Sparking power lines led to the devastating 2007 wildfires, and now investigators are looking into whether they played a role in the wine country fires.

SDG&E has taken a number of steps over the last ten years to make its lines more fire-safe, the company says.

Ten thousand wood power poles have been replaced with steel poles. Thousands of power lines have also been relocated underground.

SDG&E also has a team of arborists, who inspect the 460,000 trees near their power poles.

“And where they see problems, we have 80 tree-trimming crews who then come in and trim back trees, remove brush, make sure that we have defensible space around our power lines," said SDG&E spokesperson Colleen Windsor,

Windsor said the change that has probably made the biggest difference in their ability to be better prepared for wildfires is the creation of SDG&E’s Weather Network.

The network consists of more than 170 weather stations that measure humidity, wind speed and temperature. That information is then shared with fire departments throughout the region.

“Giving them that situational awareness, so they not only up-staff, but where should we put crews in advance in case something happens so that they can jump on that. Because, of course, time, is of the essence when it comes to fires,” Windsor said.

Contact Us