The last three fires in our Rambla Pacifico neighborhood were caused by utility poles. Power pole fires are being repeated all over Malibu, but since there are no public statistics, few of us are aware of the continued danger these ugly relics of the 1900s pose to our community.
Edison owns the poles and profits from renting space on them to other companies. By their own admission, Edison could save huge amounts of money on maintenance by undergrounding the poles, yet should any property owner or community wish to underground the mess of wires, the cost is very high. In spite of this, certain neighborhoods in Malibu and entire cities elsewhere have eliminated this scourge. Undergrounding is a goal of nearly everyone in our city, but until we as a city decide that minimizing fires and ridding ourselves of this ugly eyesore is a priority, the poles and mess of wires will continue to dominate Malibu.
Even when Edison was fined over $70 million as a result of the 2007 Malibu Canyon Fire — caused by an overloaded utility pole which toppled over — not one cent was spent to begin the undergrounding process. My neighbors and I have discussed this issue with the team of Jefferson Wagner, Skylar Peak and Fire Captain Rick Mullen. We are voting for this team because Malibu needs leadership to take decisive action on undergrounding, and many other issues that seem to drag on for years.
Breaking through Edison’s intransigence will take leadership. There are a number of good candidates running and we are fortunate to retain two council members who have shown their dedication and commitment to our city, but unless you are satisfied with the status quo, and believe that traffic has not increased in the last 25 years — as the recent city traffic study purports — please vote for Mullen, Peak and Wagner to get the leadership we need.
Scott Dittrich