BURNING ISSUE: LA MESA COUNCIL VOTES TUESDAY ON SDG&E PLAN TO SHUT-OFF POWER

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PLAN PITS URBAN VS. RURAL COMMUNITIES IN HIGH-STAKES, LIFE-OR-DEATH DECISIONS

 

By Miriam Raftery
 

August 9, 2009 (La Mesa) – On Tuesday, August 11th at 4 p.m. the La Mesa City Council will consider whether to approve a highly controversial proposal by SDG&E to shut off power to up to 60,000 homes for up to three days during high-risk conditions for wildfires. SDG&E contends pulling the plug could prevent fires caused by its power lines during windy, dry conditions. But opponents contend that shutting off power would put thousands at serious risk if a fire starts from some other cause. 

 

During the 2003 and 2007 fires, reverse 911 calls saved many lives, awakening people in the middle of the night to warn that a wildfire threatened their community.  In Lakeside's Wildcat Canyon, East County Magazine's publisher spoke with a 911 operator and got an evacuation warning at 3 a.m.  He awakened and saved several neighbors, barely escaping with his family before flames engulged the canyon.  But 14 other neighbors died because warnings came too late. How many more might die if they can't receive calls on plug-in phones?  Nor could people learn of evacuations via TV or e-mail, including East County Magazine's e-mail wilidfire alert service.  Some water departments warn that they will run out of water in hours if power is shut down. Firefighters and backcountry homeowners who rely on electric well pumps may find themselves powerless to stop fires--leaving a backcountry fire to burn out of control.

Supporters claim that budget cutbacks necessitate drastic measures so that urban areas won't have to dispatch their scarce firefighting resources to battle backcountry blazes.   Supporters say residents who live in the proposed shut-off areas should buy generators and make other emergency preparations. But generations cost several thousand dollars--and many can't afford the cost.  Generators also require storage tanks for flammable liquids--tanks which can explode and fuel wildfires.
 

Opponents of the plan say SDG&E is trying to reduce its liability for future fires at the expense of the safety residents the utility company is supposed to serve.  Some residents in the shut-off areas voice fears that their urban neighbors are making decisions that put lives at risk, and fear a Katrina-scale disaster could result. 

 

Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents East County staunchly opposes the plan. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jacob said city politicians and union firefighters who support the plan are not fully informed and are being used by SDG&E to support a dangerous plan to cut off power.

"They're confused, misinformed, uneducated and led by the nose by our local utility down a primrose path," she told the Union-Tribune.

 

County Supervisors voted unanimously to oppose the plan, while the San Diego City Council voted in favor.

 

Councilwoman Marti Emerald, asked by East County Magazine about her support for the shut-off plan, fired back that she is representing her constituents in urban areas of San Diego.She blamed Supervisors for not providing a county fire department and said if people in East County object, they should urge Supervisors to spend Prop 172 funds on firefighting.  Prop 172 was sold to voters via an ad campaign that including TV commercials of wildfires.  Other counties have used Prop 172 funds for firefighting, but San Diego County allocated all of its Prop 172 money to law enforcement instead.

Fire officials have mixed views on the shut-off plan; 13 voted to support it this week, while seven oppose the plan.
 

The Council's vote is advisory to the California Public Utilities Commission, which has announced it will vote in mid-September on whether to approve SDG&E's shut off plan or not.  But SDG&E has said it won't wait for the CPUC decision and stands ready to pull the plug on thousands here after September 1 if five specific risk factors for fires exist.  

 

SDG&E also wants the CPUC to eliminate all responsibility by SDG&E for any damage or deaths caused by shutting off power.  By contrast, the utility faces billions in potential losses from lawsuits pending against it for powerline-related fires.

 

To view a map of proposed shut-off areas and read more on SDG&E's arguments in favor of the shut-off, visit SDG&E's website att http://www.sdge.com/safety/fireprep/fireMapIntro.shtml

 

To view East County Magazine's past coverage of heated debate on this issue, visit http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=search/node/power%20shut-off.  The page also has links to East County Magazine's editor discussion the shut-off proposal on KPBS TV, KPBS radio, and KCBQ radio.

 

La Mesa City Council meets at City Hall, located at 8130 Allison Ave., one block west of Spring Street in downtown La Mesa at 4 p.m. Tuesday.  To view the agenda, visit http://www.cityoflamesa.com/archives/30/09-08-11.agn.pdf.
 


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