By Jack Cox
In recent days white trucks with name PAR on their doors have been seen all over Copperpolis. I stopped today to talk to one of the men in the truck. PG&E has hired a crew of experts to inspect power lines and poles in our community. The team of experts are inspecting every pole in the area.
The company’s website has this announcement about the project: “PG&E is working in close coordination with first responders, civic and community leaders and customers on this program. These efforts will have an immediate impact on reducing wildfire threats and improving safety, in advance of the start of wildfire season in Northern and Central California.”
The website noted: “Years of drought, extreme heat and 129 million dead trees have created a “new normal” for California. In the interest of public safety, and following the wildfires in 2017, PG&E is implementing additional precautionary measures intended to reduce the risk of wildfires. PG&E is continuously evolving its operating practices in response to new standards and regulations – but this new normal means even more must be done in partnership to strengthen the safety and resilience of the state’s energy infrastructure.”
We are thankful that power poles here are being inspected by the company. Communities with underground power include Conner Estates and Peninsula Estates do not have those dangers. The burying of all of the power lines in Copper Cove would be extremely expensive.
This is the time of the year for all of us as property owners to cut our weeds and prepare our homes to be as fire safe as possible.