Noozhawk North County Editor

Santa Barbara County residents should prepare to be without electricity amid what one utility company dubbed “the new abnormal” as representatives spread the word about programs aimed at reducing fire danger by preemptively shutting off electrical power.

While efforts have focused on rural areas that are deemed most at risk from equipment sparking a deadly and destructive blaze like the Thomas Fire or Camp Fire, the preemptive power outages could be felt in local communities, according to Eric Daniels, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. representative.

During a recent Solvang City Council meeting, Daniels provided a presentation about the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff Program and efforts that will make the equipment more resilient in the future and reduce the risk of an emergency outage.

In short, he said, residents, businesses and government agencies need to be prepared.

The high fire-threat areas have been identified in California with yellow representing Tier 2 or elevated and Tier 3, in red, for extreme. Enhanced fire safety efforts will focus on these areas.

“Homes and businesses should have emergency plans,” Daniels said. “Think about if there are sustained outages of power, what is it you are going to do?”

Residents should consider getting generators or backup options for refrigerators, air conditioners or vital medical equipment in case of extended outages.

Both PG&E, which serves the Santa Ynez Valley and communities to the north, and Southern California Edison, which serves Goleta and areas to the south, developed the Wildfire Safety Programs and notification plan with the California Public Utilities Commission. 

Cal Fire has created maps designating high fire-threat areas with some sections deemed Tier 2, or elevated, and shown in yellow on maps, while other areas are labeled Tier 3, or extreme, and shown in red.

A number of factors — such as a red flag warning about expected hot temperatures, low humidity, dry vegetation, gusty winds and real-time observations — will lead to a decision of when to implement a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).

“Not any one of them is sufficient enough to impose a PSPS,” Daniels said. “You’re going to have to have a combination of them.”

For a distribution line sitting in an area deemed vulnerable to fire, a shutoff would affect only those served by the circuit.

“But if it happens to be a transmission line, it could impact a great number of folks downstream from that location,” he said. “Because transmission lines are like freeways, they bring the greater volume of energy to communities, and distribution lines are like city streets. They are taking it out into neighborhoods.”

The grid carrying electricity to Solvang and Buellton goes through high-fire-threat areas, leaving the communities vulnerable to a PSPS.

Power company representatives hope to begin warning residents about a pending PSPS about 48 hours in advance, communicating to customers, government leaders, hospitals and more about a planned outage. Restoration after a PSPS could take time since the weather danger must pass and electricity must be restored in phases, he added.

In another fire preventive measure, PG&E plans to temporarily disable an automatic system that attempts to re-energize a line but actually could create a potential fire hazard if a tree branch or foreign object fell on the equipment.

“In the summer and in the fire season, they’re dangerous because every time you’re trying to pass energy back through that foreign object on the line, you could create a spark which could create a fire hazard, so we’re going to disengage them,” Daniels said. “The moral of this little tale is that we want the public and you to understand that in the summertime, when we disengage this automation, the outages will be longer in duration.”

A crew member must inspect the line to ensure that it’s clear and manually re-engage it before power will be restored, he said, adding that the length of the outage depends on weather conditions.

The proactive power shutoff is just one step undertaken by utility companies to guard against dangerous wildfires. A revised vegetation management program includes efforts to reduce fire risk around electrical equipment with areas below and above power equipment now cleared. Instead of an 18-inch clearance swath around a conductor, or wire, the new efforts will aim at establishing a 4-foot area around power lines.

“That is throughout the grid, throughout the system,” Daniels told the Solvang council. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a high-fire-threat area or not, that’s what we’re doing even here in town.”

By 2022, PG&E plans to install 1,300 new weather stations and 600 new surveillance cameras in high-fire-threat areas to help forecasters assess conditions. PG&E has enhanced its inspection system, using crews, helicopters and drones to assess equipment in need of fixes and has located more than 50,000 repair tags across its service territory, Daniels said.

Long-term goals call for replacing wooden poles with metal versions in high-fire-threat areas to make them more resistant to fire and to install insulated wiring to make them less susceptible to shorting, which leads to dangerous conditions.

The changes will make the firm’s electrical system “much more robust,” Daniels said. “These things will help to reduce the risk of the PSPS affecting your community in the long term.”

Resident Kaaren Jordan expressed concern about people who can’t afford generators, calling for the creation of a pet-friendly cooling center in the Santa Ynez Valley. She said her research identified the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School as a potential site with air conditioning to accommodate residents during the outage.

“If PG&E can provide a generator like they did for Yuba City three weeks ago, we would be fine,” she said, referring to a recent PSPS. “It would be absolutely great.”

For more information about the SCE Public Safety Power Shutoff visit www.sce.com/safety/wildfire.

For more information about PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoff visit https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/wildfire-safety.page.

To ensure the power company has ways to notify you about a pending alert, visit www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts.

In anticipation of the new program, PG&E’s website for power outages has a new category to show Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

As part of the PSPS outreach effort, utility representatives have urged customers to confirm their contact information on their PG&E or SCE accounts so notices can be delivered by phone, text and email.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.

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In response to the increasing potential for wildland fires, Los Padres National Forest officials have increased fire restrictions throughout the forest for the summer.

These restrictions affect the use of campfires, stoves, smoking materials and internal combustion engines, and will remain in effect until the end of fire season in late autumn. 

The following restrictions are now in effect:

• No open fires, campfires or charcoal fires will be permitted outside of developed recreation sites or designated campfire use sites, even with a valid California Campfire Permit.
• Lanterns and portable stoves using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel will be permitted, but only with a valid California Campfire Permit, which are available free-of-charge on the forest website and at any U.S. Forest Service office.
• Forest visitors must clear all flammable material for five feet in all directions from their camp stove, have a shovel available, and ensure that a responsible person attends the stove at all times during use.
• Smoking is prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or a designated campfire use site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material.
• Internal combustion engines may be operated only on roads or designated trails. This restriction is in effect year-round. Owners are reminded to make sure their engines are tuned, operating properly, and with an approved spark arrester.
• Fireworks – even the “safe and sane” variety – are not permitted at any time within the forest.

For a list of developed recreation sites and campfire use sites in Los Padres National Forest, or for more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf or contact the U.S. Forest Service district office nearest you.

The Los Padres National Forest Supervisor’s Office is at 6750 Navigator Way, Suite 150, in Goleta, and the Santa Barbara Ranger District is at 3505 Paradise Road.

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By John Baeke

As a transplant from Tornado Alley in Kansas, I was all too familiar with the sounds of Civil Defense sirens and running for shelter. I likened the randomness of where that night’s tornado would strike to the Nazi buzz bombs dropping on London. You knew, somewhere in the city, there would be tears.

The tires and interior of this seven-series BMW are toast.

Once you can sigh in the relief of no loss of life, the reality of the overwhelming devastation sets in. As the hopeless car guy I am, it always caused me pain to see the twisted and mangled remains of vintage motorcars. I knew each one must have had a wonderful story to

It’s ironic to find a Triumph SpitFire in the aftermath of a fire.

tell: trips to the ice cream parlor; weddings, parades … but never again.

Though life in California is blissfully free of tornados, wildfires may be worse. Knowing how pervasive the car-culture is in our sunny state, I was drawn to visit Malibu a day after the rain that finally extinguished the horrible Woolsey fire.

This fire eventually killed three, destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and torched 100,000 acres. My self-imposed assignment was to survey the rubble and witness firsthand the effect this latest firestorm had on our motoring treasures. I would remain respectful by not touching a thing.

A very desirable early ’60s Mercedes 220SE cabriolet, from left, a 1965 Ford Thunderbird, and an early ’70s Mercedes 450SL.

As a surgeon, I am able to remain strong in the face of blood and suffering. I was unprepared for what I saw.

To most, Malibu is nothing but a line of bumper-to-bumper traffic along Pacific Coast Highway, with a long row of compact beach homes. What few see is what is tucked in the miles of hills rising above the PCH in the Santa Monica Mountains. Here, cloistered away behind gilded gates, stuccoed walls and perfectly manicured hedgerows, are magnificent Mediterranean villas with unparalleled vistas of the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands. This is the beautiful Malibu.

It is difficult to comprehend how a fire that began many miles inland near Calabasas could not be extinguished long before reaching Malibu. Indeed, the mountains in between are mostly non-forested and uninhabited. Residents I met were outspoken in their criticism of public works and city government; telling of their water being diverted and electricity being shut off (thus deactivating well pumps).

This 1951 Chevrolet Fleetline survived, but the owner’s Honda and home did not.

After fires in 2002, one neighborhood had the foresight to invest in their own private fire truck. As it was related to me, during the Woolsey fire the local fire department commandeered their truck, which later was found to be abandoned. Several homes in their neighborhood burned.

The fire consumed entire subdivisions and would then jump over a dozen homes before engulfing others of seeming identical construction. I learned that stucco burns, glass explodes, and cars melt. I also learned that one man with a garden hose can save a home.

Sadly, I had no difficulty finding beautiful motorcars destroyed, both daily drivers and collectors’ dream rides. To see these gems, now ash, still sitting on the front drive or inside a garage, speaks to the horror families experienced as fast-moving flames forced them to decide what must be left behind. With their shiny paint burned away, the remains of these cars now sit, rusting in the tears of their owners.

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The Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society and Solvang Library are hosting a talk about wildfire and regional biodiversity by distinguished herpetologist Samuel Sweet. This free program, titled “Fire Management and the Future of Southern California’s Sky Islands,” will be held on Thursday, September 27, 7:00 p.m. at the Solvang Library, located at 1745 Mission Drive.

Southwestern California contains a number of “sky islands,” which are ridge lines and mountaintops that trap moisture and still provide conditions that support isolated relict coniferous forests and plant communities that are rich in animal life. In our immediate area, small examples of sky island habitat can be found on Figueroa Mountain and Ranger Peak. Direct evidence of fires was actually lacking in these sites until recently, but changes in fire origins and fire management in the last decade or so have created a crisis whereby some of California’s most spectacular sky islands have been lost, and the remainder are under severe threat.

A decade after the catastrophic Day and Zaca fires, conifers have completely failed to recruit because conditions are now too hot and dry, and these sites will continue as chaparral for thousands of years until the next glacial cycle. This lecture will focus on the few remaining sky islands to illustrate what is being lost. The talk will also examine how current fire-management strategies could be modified in order to better protect these imperiled places.

Dr. Samuel Sweet is a Professor at UCSB’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology. His research focus is on distributional ecology and systematics of western North American and Australian amphibians and reptiles.

For more information about the Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society and its fall 2018 schedule of lectures and field trips, please visit www.syvnature.org.

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