Mason wrote on Nov 16, 2007 11:16 PM:I saw power lines sparking all across Escondido from my hillside perch as the wind blew my hair straight back.

Randy wrote on Nov 17, 2007 2:33 AM:SDG&E has failed to quickly underground power lines within the city limits. What incentive does SDG&E have to underground power lines outside the city limits?

Just a thought wrote on Nov 17, 2007 7:05 AM:This could have all been avoided by simply shutting off power to those legs when the wind speed is too high. You can't run that type of power line underground because they are air-cooled and would burn up underground.

To: Just a thought wrote on Nov 17, 2007 7:38 AM:Are the lines really air-cooled ? The disaster is similar to the disaster we faced 4 years ago, at the exact same time of year. It is insane to contemplate the Sunrise Powerlink now, in the face of the fires. We all are going to have to go solar as much as we can and all new construction will have to have solar generation for its power, or at least the majority of it. We cannot replace peoples memories, but we can help with their "stuff", but the damage done.

Engineer Bill: wrote on Nov 17, 2007 7:54 AM: Infrastructure should be a main issue nation wide during the up coming elections, as it was a few years ago. If we stop progressing we are done for If additional power lines are the answer to our future electrical needs then sunrise line must be built taking into consideration all the elements that will be acting upon it, including high winds. High winds blowing down power lines caused the most of our recent fires. When mechanical things are designed the engineers take into account, or are supposed to take into account, stress factors that can come into play that the device must withstand. In this case the stress caused by high winds. And it does not end there. The engineers must look to the future and take into account deterioration of the device due to the other elements such as heat, cold, humidity or the lack of it, and corrosion over time just to mention a few. The engineers must devise acceptable and unacceptable limits of deterioration and an inspection system to determine the extent of deterioration. And, mandatory replacement must be spelled out for those devices where the deterioration has exceeded those limits. I am sure that San Diego county has experienced much higher winds many times. What were the power lines condition? Why did they fail? What can we do in the future to prevent other wildfires? What we need right now is answers. Infrastructure inspection and design and inspection and repair must be our main issue. If we don't the wildfires of 2007 will be mild to what we can expect. Humidity at 2 percent will happen again along with high winds and the Sunrise line must be designed accordingly. The Sunrise line should happen, but pity the poor people that live near it if it isn't built and maintained to withstand the elements, and the area around it isn't maintained free of burnable material.

Kam wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:06 AM:SDG&E will not be found liable. You can't hold then liable. No system could have withstood those winds. Placing lines underground is 1 million dollars a mile. It will never happen. Do the math on that one!

Welding in Fallbrook? wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:31 AM:Who welds outside near vegetation during a red flag alert?

don't need electricity wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:40 AM:why don't we just get rid of all electrical lines? Then there will be no fires.

Truth is so good wrote on Nov 17, 2007 11:26 AM:So much for Michael Spencer and Jeff Schwilk's theory that the fires were caused by those dern elligal emmigrants. I guess this is just one more of these successes that Jeff Schwilk is always boasting about you know spreading lies and having people actually believe them. Try again Jeff because you and your buddies lost some ground here.

Roberto1 wrote on Nov 17, 2007 12:11 PM:How about not putting anymore power line routes through ? Instaed build power plants and keep jobs in California.

Tanya wrote on Nov 17, 2007 2:19 PM:Dear friends, I am writing far away from you.From another reality I can see that all your services were organized perfectly well. Human damages are minimum. Vivat,America!

mike wrote on Nov 17, 2007 7:42 PM: How can you point the finger at SDGE..The fire was of course of high santa anna winds and and act of nature ( GOD )people always have to put down our power company. and when their power goes out, not by fire or wind..I am saying a car hits a power pole They our greatful for those people put their lives on the line to restore power for you and many others Electricty is not something toy with..

Ah Yes, Engineer Bill wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:28 PM:He has all the answers. Technology got is into this mess, nature will get us out of it. WE ARE NOT SMARTER THAN NATURE, that has been demonstrated over and over and over. Dirty secret is that customers don't need Sunrise Powerlink, stockholders need it to protect their grip on power in San Diego county

Million dollar mile wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:38 PM:Ok, I'll do the math...give me some numbers though. Wasn't the total damage > 1 billion? At one million dollars a mile, that's a lot of miles.

Liability wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:40 PM:SDG&E can keep the profits if they do well but not be held liable if their profit making assets cause damage? I don't get how that makes any sense. They need an incentive to fix this for the future, just like doctors aren't off the hook. You break it, you fix it.

Just a thought. wrote on Nov 17, 2007 8:55 PM:Yes, the line commonly referred to, as the “return line” gets hot and is air-cooled. I think the San Diego County Office of Emergency Management should have contacted SDG&E and requested the grid turned off until the winds died down.

True cost wrote on Nov 17, 2007 11:25 PM:High voltage power lines may be $1 million a mile, but you also have to consider the value of the property destroyed last month, the cost of fighting the fires, and the ongoing cost of having large fire departments. Which is larger? Someone should do the math.

Santa Ysabel Girl wrote on Nov 18, 2007 5:06 AM:It is a fact that the High Voltage 230 and 500 kv lines conduct in heavy smoke and spark adding a new dimension to wildfires. KEEP THEM OUT OF EAST COUNTY ! The Santa Ana Winds are not going away. For the safety of everyone, putting these lines in the east county is suicidal!

mmary wrote on Nov 18, 2007 7:16 AM:Here is an excerpt from the book, "Some Highlights of the Natural History of San Diego County," by Ruth S. Meyer, 1981 Ramona Pioneer Historical Society, page 34 ... There have also been notable winds-- such as the destructive 100 mph wind we experienced in Ramona on December 20, 1977. A gale of similar proportions on October 2, 1858, is reported in Pourade's book The Silver Dons: At 11 o'clock in the morning... a terrific gale sprang up from the south southeast and continued with fury until 5pm when rain commenced to fall. The Herald said it blew with such violence and the air was filled with such dense clouds of dust that it was impossible to see across the Plaza, and it was with the greatest difficulty the pedestrians could walk the streets. Damage to property was considerable; houses were unroofed and blown down; trees uprooded and fences destroyed.. Earlier, in the 1830's, Richard Henry Dana had stated: This wind[the southeaster] is the bane of the coast of California between the months of November and April (including a part of each), which is the rainy season in this latitude, you are never safe from it, and accordingly, in the ports which are open to it, vessels are obliged, during these months, to lie at anchor at a distance of three miles from shores, with slip=ropes on their cables, ready to slip an dgo to sea at a moment's warining. These incidents, though rare, are a reminder that we can never really take the weather for granted-- even in San Diego County.

Mark wrote on Nov 19, 2007 9:34 AM:Up here in the great Northwest, it is the responsbility of the homeowner to make sure their trees and vegation doesn't grow too close to powerlines. Unfortunately, some neighborhoods & property owners didn't seem to get this. I believe this is why some neighborhoods were the last to have their powerlines reconnected (three to four weeks later). And yes, these were the same homeowners who threatned lawsuits against the power company if they were to come on their property and remove threatning vegation.

Dr Payne wrote on Nov 21, 2007 1:30 PM:You can go right back to the Northwest you have no idea of what you are talking about. My house was cleared to 150' and planted with ice plant and it still burned down and yes I filed a lawsuit aganist the company that caused this disaster. ...

Homeless in Ramona wrote on Dec 18, 2007 2:39 PM:True we had strong/Santa Ana winds on Oct. 21. BUT when the Witch Creek fire started at 12:35pm were the winds 70-100 mph at that point or as the winds and fire grew did the winds then increase? Because I too will be part of the class-action suit when all finding are in and they say SDG&E is at fault!