A veteran newsman who spent three decades in print, TV and radio, Hans Laetz invested hundreds of hours of personal time in a solo effort to win tougher safety standards on utility poles after the disastrous 2007 Malibu Canyon wildfire.
The fire, which burned 3,800 acres and destroyed 14 structures, sparked when three overloaded power poles snapped in high wind and ignited nearby brush.
Laetz decided to get involved in the regulatory response to the fire after he showed state officials photos he took of other poles that had been knocked over by wind, with no luck. “I gave them to the state [public utilities] commission and they ignored me, they just didn’t do anything. And that’s when I got mad. That’s when I intervened.”
Laetz became involved in the case as a citizen intervenor. Over a period of four years, Laetz made 15 trips to San Francisco and pressed for higher safety standards in Malibu during 200 hours of depositions with attorneys for the state, Southern California Edison and four cellphone companies whose equipment was found on the poles.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) eventually levied fines totalling $66.5 million on the five companies for their roles in the fire, including $17 million for a pole safety inspection program in Malibu. A safety study mandated under the settlement found that 22 percent of Edison’s poles in California were out of conformance. The commission recently passed stringent new safety guidelines for utility poles statewide.
Laetz credited the work of CPUC attorney Edward Muldovsky for the settlement, and the support of Malibu Councilmembers Laura Rosenthal, Lou La Monte and John Sibert for driving him on during the process.
“When things got tough, Laura and Lou, to my undying gratitude, and John, pushed me along,” Laetz said. “All of them were supportive.”
Laetz won an Emmy as news assignments manager for KTLA as part of the station’s coverage of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Laetz and his wife Diane live in Malibu Park. They have three grown daughters.