Utility Responsible For Wildfire, CA Report Says
California has found that one of the state’s biggest utilities was responsible for a fire that killed two people last year, the Washington Post reports. In a report by the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection that has not yet been public says a sag in a power line maintained by Southern California Edison sparked flames that eventually turned into the Fairview Fire, which burned 28,000 acres. The state’s Public Utilities Commission recommends that utilities temporarily shut off power lines in dry areas on days with high heat and winds, which the utility failed to do in this case. Before this report, Southern California Edison has denied any involvement in the fire; the utility told the Post it was “examining” the new report.
(Washington Post $, Reuters)
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