Hacker News Reader

Comment by shortandsweet | Hacker News Reader

How do you know it is their responsibility to trim trees? It all depends on the easement legal details. In some cases, they may be, but in others the property owner would be. The lines were fine until the vegetation got in the way!

I don't know anywhere in the world where a utility is responsible for events like these as CA has made PGE to be. Really makes you think. Why the sudden change when fires have been happening since the dawn of time? Why care so much so suddenly?

View on HN

> How do you know it is their responsibility to trim trees?

Legally? Because of the massive liabilities and parole violations in their ongoing criminal parole for the San Bruno gas explosion they've racked up for their failure to do that trimming.

> I don't know anywhere in the world where a utility is responsible for events like these as CA has made PGE to be. Really makes you think. Why the sudden change when fires have been happening since the dawn of time?

Maybe the change is the same culture of neglect at PG&E that got them a number of federal felony convictions for the 2010 gas explosion manifesting through neglect of maintenance.

> Why care so much so suddenly?

Caring about fires isn't new.

Three consecutive years with major fires attributable to maintenance neglect by the same utility is new (and those starting the year after the same utility was criminally convicted for a major urban gas explosion 6 years prior isn't a great look, either.)

You can't say that for sure until you've read the document that allows PG and E to utilize the land. Each and every agreement is different.

Even if they aren't explicitly required to trim back brush in an easement, they likely have a professional duty of care to ensure that their lines are safe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_of_care

> You can't say that for sure until you've read the document that allows PG and E to utilize the land.

I'm kind of assuming that their own lawyers in assessing their probable liability for the 2017 and 2018 fires that led to the bankruptcy filing, and the federal judge who assessed that their failures to do what is legally required were, on top of any civil violations, a violation of their criminal probation, and so on, have done their homework on what the legal requirements are.

If you've got some reason to think they're all wrong, though, I'd be interested to hear it, but as far as I can tell there's not really even a serious question on the legal responsibility issue.

I'm not completely sure this is indeed what we're talking about, but in Quebec, Hydro Quebec clears the forest around their power lines [0][1]

0: https://imgur.com/a/P5boTGD 1: https://imgur.com/a/judq7zj

Yeah same in BC. My old place used.to have a bunch of trees in the front yard. BC hydro used to show up regularly to cut branches on them that interfered with powerlines.

It does appear to be their responsibility.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-tells-judg...

Elsewhere in the world most power lines are buried.

Actually long distance power lines aren't buried in any country (there are some exceptions).

But they either

- put so hight the air that taking trees don't affect then

- have trees around then cleared out, which implicitly also acts as a (slight) fire gap in case of Forest fires

This is blatantly false for HV, I don't get why this is so persistent.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com