Like many large California wildfires, that one was sparked-quite literally-by an electric power line and then spread by intense winds.
Through new rules, the state's power regulators now permit PG&E and other utilities to shut off power to more customers during periods of elevated risk.
Fire experts call these zones the "Wildland-urban interface." Nearly a third of California homes are built in these hard-to-protect areas.
Power lines themselves vastly amplify the risk that fires will occur.
Cal Fire, the state agency that manages wildfire policy, recently confirmed that a PG&E power line did indeed spark the Camp Fire blaze.
Since 2013, the utility has shut down power to regions over a dozen times-none of the targeted areas reported major fires.
Now, to try to prevent those fires, the entire state's power grid is subject to sporadic blackouts.
https://www.city-journal.org/california-planned-blackouts
Through new rules, the state's power regulators now permit PG&E and other utilities to shut off power to more customers during periods of elevated risk.
Fire experts call these zones the "Wildland-urban interface." Nearly a third of California homes are built in these hard-to-protect areas.
Power lines themselves vastly amplify the risk that fires will occur.
Cal Fire, the state agency that manages wildfire policy, recently confirmed that a PG&E power line did indeed spark the Camp Fire blaze.
Since 2013, the utility has shut down power to regions over a dozen times-none of the targeted areas reported major fires.
Now, to try to prevent those fires, the entire state's power grid is subject to sporadic blackouts.
https://www.city-journal.org/california-planned-blackouts
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