Comments 1 - 13 of 13        Search these comments

1   justme   2017 Oct 11, 8:22pm  

This is a significant story. I noticed on the news tonight (KRON4 or CBS5) that PG&E was running advertising about their emergency preparedness programs in between the news reports! Was that just a coincidence, or is PG&E sending a not-so-subtle message to the TV stations about who is buying their advertising timeslots, in order to induce the stations not to dig too hard into reports that high winds and possibly falling trees caused electrical accidents that in turn sparked the fires?

The effect may be further amplified by the fact that the news coverage is pre-empting the regular programming, and the TV stations are not getting the regular advertising they had booked.
2   SFace   2017 Oct 11, 9:12pm  

Yep, the wind was crazy that night and said hot damn, it's like a mini hurricane.

Woke up next morning and found out the rest.
4   anonymous   2017 Oct 12, 12:38pm  

KTVU2 news is now reporting the PG&E angle to the start if the fires. First I have seen.
5   justme   2017 Oct 12, 12:38pm  

KTVU2 news is now reporting the PG&E angle to the start of the fires. First I have seen.
6   justme   2017 Oct 13, 1:41pm  

On Tuesday, when the initial report about possible PG&E connection with or culpability for the fires came out, there was still plenty of time to short the stock (PCG). Wish I had thought of that! I guess I just don't have that killer instinct. The stock dropped starting Thu from about $69 to about $58 now.
7   justme   2017 Oct 21, 9:32am  

NY Times has a data-driven story that shows where the Tubbs fiire started, a geographical timeline of the spread, and the location of known deaths

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/21/us/california-fire-damage-map.html
8   justme   2017 Oct 21, 9:32am  

Also: Last night there were more TV news reports showing wreckage of what looked like a transformer at the location that fire investigators are currently working on. The fallen transformer could be just collateral damage, but my guess is that is central to the investigation.
9   justme   2017 Oct 21, 12:22pm  

QUOTE: For the better part of a decade, California’s utilities have helped to stall the state’s effort to map where their power lines present the highest risk for wildfires, an initiative that critics say could have forced PG&E to strengthen power poles and bolster maintenance efforts before this month’s deadly North Bay fires.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/21/pge-helped-stall-effort-to-map-risky-power-lines-prone-to-wildfires/
10   justme   2017 Oct 21, 12:38pm  

More good reporting from NY Times

“It’s a crime scene for us until we determine otherwise,” said Ron Eldridge, the deputy chief of law enforcement for Cal Fire, the agency leading the investigation. “Was there negligence or was there a violation of law? That’s ultimately what we are trying to determine.”

“If there are high velocity winds, there’s every reason to suspect that power lines are a source,” said Jon E. Keeley, a fire expert with the United States Geological Survey in California. “We have many documented cases of power lines igniting fires during these high wind events.”

"On Bennett Lane, where the deadliest of the fires is believed to have started, wires littered the roads even a week after the fires began. But whether the power lines provided the spark that began the fire remains an open question."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/california-wildfires-investigation.html
11   justme   2017 Oct 21, 1:02pm  

Here is a link to a map of the starting point of the so-called Tubbs fire, which started near the CA-128 and Bennett Lane intersection in Calistoga (and not exactly on Tubbs Lane, which is nearby).

https://www.google.com/maps/place/CA-128+%26+Bennett+Ln,+Calistoga,+CA+94515/@38.5998876,-122.6190088,15.5z

There are some great before/after satellite maps (with a slider to alternate back and forth) on github, but unfortunately the maps do not cover the Tubbsfire flashpoint location at the time of this writing.

https://robinkraft.github.io/norcal-fires-imagery/compare.html
12   justme   2017 Oct 22, 9:48am  

PG&E may have overstated the wind speed in order to make it look inevitable or unavoidable that power lines were downed or otherwise short- circuited by wind.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/12/california-fires-pge-power-lines-fell-in-winds-that-werent-hurricane-strength/

(no thanks to tovbot for his link being posted in the wrong place).
13   justme   2017 Oct 22, 1:28pm  

This is an example of the powerlines and terrain and vegetation near the flashpoint of the so-called Tubbs fire.

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions