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CA appears to require lots of power lines because of sprawling development patterns, electricity generation located away from population centers, and a significant proportion of electricity imported from other states which must then be distributed intrastate.

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It appears that CA power line vegetation management is woefully lacking. Given the fire risks, the right of way for high tension power lines should be essentially bare of vegetation.

PG&E is less than one-third done with its 2019 tree-trimming work

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-is-less-th...

I suppose once could burry main lines, and have a mechanism that can remotely disable parts of overground lines, and enable them once the fire risk is over. But either way, not acting in anyway makes the US/CA look like a poor country - they certainly have all sorts of excuses for power-cuts in there, and why it is impossibly expensive to fix.

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