A number of Los Angeles power providers have begun to attempt to keep ahead of the potentially unstable and unpredictable flames as many wildfires continue to burn throughout the county. They are doing this by removing dry vegetation and safeguarding important power lines.
They have been working for days, making stops at as many power poles as they can along the boundaries of the flames, the Eaton Fire in the foothills above Pasadena and Altadena, and the Palisades Fire along the coast of Los Angeles.
“We are way ahead from the fire,” PG&E employee Connor Norton stated on Sunday while working in North Hollywood.
To start, they use power tools and hoes to remove as much dry foliage as possible from the area around the poles that could endanger the electrical infrastructure.
“Our job is to get out along the fire’s edge where the fire may go,” PG&E employee Rob Cone added.
They then use their vehicles to spray fire retardant—the same substance that firefighting planes drop from above—on each power pole.
In order to prevent embers from latching inside and starting a fire, they attempt to spray the material as far up the pole as they can and into each pole’s fissures.
“That way, if or when the fire does make it this way, we don’t have to worry about embers catching it,” Norton stated.
The work is all the more satisfying since they both understand how vital it is.
“I enjoy this kind of work, even though I am covered in retardant; it’s fun,” Norton stated. “It is cool to see what we do actually pays off.”
According to PG&E, its efforts to keep electrical lines from falling during a fire have a 92% success rate.
According to Cone, replacing street-side poles that are taken down would cost more than $20,000. The ones on hillsides are much more expensive, costing over $100,000 and necessitating helicopter aid.
“The power stays on, first responders get to do what they need to do,” Norton stated. At the end of the day, everyone is generally satisfied. It’s satisfying. You feel like you’ve accomplished something. Today, we took action and fulfilled our responsibility.