Report: Utilities Delayed Effort To Map Wildfire Risk From Power Lines
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A report says California utilities have helped delay efforts for nearly a decade to map where power lines pose the greatest wildfire risk.
The report Sunday in The Mercury News comes as the state investigates whether downed power lines owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. sparked the deadliest collection of wildfires in California history earlier this month.
State regulators have been trying to tighten regulations on utilities and create detailed maps after disastrous fires in San Diego in 2007 were sparked when wind knocked down power lines.
The Public Utilities Commission still hasn't completed the maps or adopted strict new regulations.
PG&E and other utilities won another delay just two days before the deadly fire outbreak in Northern California.
PG&E says the state is investigating whether its equipment caused some of the catastrophic blazes.
