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Comment by cdme | Hacker News Reader

That's not the fault of the party you're blaming it on. The utilities fail to do so and have (and continue to) face lawsuits and repercussions. If the state were to intervene with their operation further I imagine you'd take issue with that meddling.

It's certainly not caused by Delta smelt or a failure to rake leaves in the forest either.

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The government is already a utility provider, and the absence of LADWP shut offs is the likely cause of the Palisades Fire. Same thing with the Eaton Fire and Southern California Edison. So yes, actually, it is very much the fault of both parties I named.

Fires can get caused by all kinds of things beyond power lines. Its added risk but its only really a risk because the wind, humidity, and fuel load were so ideal. At that point it could be a cigarette butt or freak lightning storm or an arsonist and it would do in the hillside all the same.

The recent (across several years) major fires have been caused by utility companies, so while you might live in fear of hypothetical arsonists, freak lightning storms, and cigarette butts, it seems more productive to direct our attention to the actual causes.

And the solution is? More privatization?

I wasn’t aware the government owned SCE.

I’m not aware of any republican policies to address the issue. Last I saw they were complaining about ASL translators being available during news conferences about the disaster.

> the absence of LADWP shut offs is the likely cause of the Palisades Fire

And I’m not a Republican or right winger of any fashion.

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