2020 Sierra National Forest Creek Fire in California
Credit: USFS
October 29, 2022 - The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) reports on November 17, the Public Utilities Commission will consider whether PG&E should exit Step 1 of the Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement Process relative to its vegetation management operations. Information about the opportunity for comments is contained at the conclusion of this article.
The CPUC placed PG&E on step one of its enhanced oversight and enforcement process because PG&E failed to adequately prioritize its wildfire mitigation vegetation management work on the highest risk power lines in 2020. PG&E was ordered to report that failure and focus its future work on those highest risk circuits.
This development comes at a time when PG&E has repeatedly refused to remove felled wood from trees cut during its vegetation management operations. This refusal is impairing public safety, increasing fuel loads, compromising property owners’ efforts to create and maintain defensible space, and imposing heavy financial burdens on property owners to abate these hazards created by PG&E.
PG&E traditionally removed felled wood cut under its various vegetation management programs; however, more than a dozen counties have expressed concerns that PG&E now refuses to remove felled wood despite repeated requests from landowners. This course change is even more confusing considering PG&E’s prior acknowledgement that wood removal is intended “to reduce wildfire risk created by hazard trees piling up” and that, “dead wood constitutes fuel on the ground that not only can catch fire, but also compromises firefighter safety.”
As felled trees dry out, they increase the fuel load, thereby exacerbating the risk and severity of wildfires. These concerns are heightened when the trees are felled and left within the 100’ defensible space perimeter that property owners are required to maintain. In some cases, property owners who passed defensible space inspections reportedly failed subsequent inspections as a result of trees cut down and left in place by PG&E vegetation management crews.
The CPUC will accept comments on this proposal through Thursday, November 3, 2022.
The CPUC will take public comment at its November 17th voting meeting, when this item is expected to be considered. Members of the public will have 1-2 minutes to speak, and the call-in number will be:
- Phone: 1-800-857-1917, passcode: 9899501#
- Spanish Phone: 1-800-857-1917, passcode: 3799627#
ABOUT RURAL COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES OF CALIFORNIA (RCRC)
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) is a thirty-seven member county strong service organization that champions policies on behalf of California’s rural counties. RCRC is dedicated to representing the collective unique interests of its membership, providing legislative and regulatory representation at the State and Federal levels, and providing responsible services for its members to enhance and protect the quality of life in rural California counties. To learn more about RCRC, visit rcrcnet.org and follow @RuralCounties on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Source: RCRC
