Why Did It Take PG&E 10 Hours To Inspect Transmission Line That Failed Near Origin Of Kincade Fire?
SONOMA COUNTY (CBS13) — On Thursday, PG&E confirmed that one of their transmission lines failed at just about the same time and location that the Kincade Fire began.
The Public Safety Power Shutoff was for those smaller distribution lines, which take power from transformers to customers. The line that went down Wednesday was a high-voltage transmission line, the large metal ones that bring power up and down the state.
PG&E protocol for the bigger transmission lines is based on damage from wind gusts above 55 miles per hour. The smaller distribution lines can see damage above 45 miles an hour.
Winds in the area of the fire were forecasted Wednesday for 30 mph gusts, which PG&E said is why the big transmission lines were not de-energized. This coming weekend, parts of Northern California could see gusts at 45-60 mph, so the worst is not over.
Cal Fire reports the Kincade Fire began at 9:27 p.m. Wednesday and PG&E says it became aware of the failed transmission line just minutes before at 9:20 p.m. But, it was not until 7:30 a.m. Thursday that a PG&E "troubleman" responded to the area.
When asked about the delay by CBS SF reporter Maria Medina Thursday, a PG&E spokesperson said they were not aware it took 10 hours to inspect the lines.
A PG&E spokesperson responded: "I'm not aware that it took 10 hours to inspect the lines, so I have a difficult time answering that question."
Medina then said, "That's according to your report."
At that point, PG&E CEO Bill Johnson said, "That's a report that's accurate. I don't know the answer to that but we will get you the answer."
By Friday evening, PG&E got back to us with that answer. They say they did immediately dispatch an employee to the scene, but the employee could not access the tower due to the active fire scene.
PG&E was able to access the site safely the next morning.
