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Californians out of electricity cant get gasoline to generators!
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wilfred:

--- Quote from: Marco on October 12, 2019, 10:08:53 pm ---
PS. as for the rich people who want to live among the trees, let them pay for the privilege one way or another (I'd suggest putting a very wide firebreak deeper in the forest, football field wide, or just accepting your house will burn down eventually).

--- End quote ---

It isn't always rich people affected by these fires caused by powerlines. In rural areas it could be those most disadvantaged affected. Here in Victoria Australia where I am this debate flares up (sorry bad pun) from time to time as in this news report from 2013.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-28/powerline-failures-linked-to-bushfires/5050204

Different states have different policies regarding turning off power to prevent fires.

Will this give increased ratings to those doomsday prepper programs I see in the TV guide?

And in this thread there is an element of blaming the people who live in fire vulnerable areas. That reeks of blaming the victims. Which is not cool. 
rstofer:

--- Quote from: floobydust on October 12, 2019, 08:18:12 pm ---Where is this Diablo wind, I don't see it. https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/500hPa/orthographic=-104.00,41.82,428

--- End quote ---

Go back a few days!  The outages are over for Northern California but the Santa Ana winds may pick up in Southern California.
https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/PGE-power-shutdown-wind-was-it-a-strong-event-14506572.php
They weren't thinking this windstorm would be as bad as 2017 but 70 MPH is nothing to laugh at.

PG&E is at the mercy of the weather predictors.  If they overstate the windspeed, and they would rather do that than understate it, PG&E has to react.

The utility worries about the wind blowing the lines together or toppling the towers.  More likely is the winds blowing trees over or even just large branches across the wires.  I think they were predicting winds over 65 MPH.

And no, we can't underground the 500 kV lines.  At best, the technology is new and, at worst, it is 25 times as expensive.  True, once undergrounded things are a lot better but keeping high voltage in one place is no ease task.

https://www.apnews.com/5fe83d4daed64b5daa67ef5e5d81a936

The medium voltage lines could be undergrounded but these usually go to a clients neighborhood of, perhaps, 5 people.  Do you really think those customers want to pay the cost of undergrounding?  They paid the cost of getting power to their property, it wasn't free, but they certainly won't want to pay to replace what they already have.

Remember, PG&E isn't selling electricity when the customers are dark and they're in the business of selling.  They don't like the situation any more than the customers but they simply can't afford to wipe out a few more towns.

The environmentalists make it difficult to cut trees and clear undergrowth.  Controlled burns have a way of becoming uncontrolled.  And then there is arson.  Not every wildfire is PG&E's fault.
Marco:

--- Quote from: wilfred on October 13, 2019, 12:25:22 am ---And in this thread there is an element of blaming the people who live in fire vulnerable areas. That reeks of blaming the victims. Which is not cool.

--- End quote ---

Power is one thing, towns going up in flames is another. Paradise which went up in flames last year was literally build right up to the forest ...

You can't even do controlled burns near anything like that, which is why prescribed fire is not a solution. It can be done cheaper than mechanical clearing, but it's still not done on the scale of wild fires or everywhere it's necessary because of politics and the chance of it going out of control.

The only really option is isolating yourself, after which letting prescribed fire or wildfire do the job becomes mostly irrelevant.
Red Squirrel:
If I lived there I'd have an off grid solar setup given how much sun there is.  It only makes sense.  That said it's way too hot so I would not want to live there in first place. :P
IanB:

--- Quote from: rstofer on October 13, 2019, 12:53:56 am ---And no, we can't underground the 500 kV lines.  At best, the technology is new and, at worst, it is 25 times as expensive.  True, once undergrounded things are a lot better but keeping high voltage in one place is no ease task.
--- End quote ---

The 500 kV lines aren't at any risk from adverse weather conditions. They are suspended from strong metal towers high above the ground and far away from any trees. High winds just make them swing a bit.

Where the trouble comes is the low and medium voltage distribution lines suspended lower down from wooden poles at tree height. These are the ones affected by ice and winds and snow. Every country has these in rural areas, but usually the utility company cuts back encroaching trees every year to protect them.

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