After reaching settlements totaling $63.5 million with the State of California over their roles in the 2007 Malibu Canyon Fire, several communications companies have begun inspecting power poles and pole attachments throughout Malibu. Meanwhile, Southern California Edison is scheduled to assess each of its Malibu poles by March 2015.
One of three power poles that snapped in heavy Santa Ana winds on Oct. 21, 2007, sparking nearby brush and starting the massive fire, was later revealed to have been overloaded with communications equipment. The fire burned 3,836 acres, 36 vehicles and 14 structures, including Castle Kashan and the Malibu Presbyterian Church, and damaged 19 other structures. Edison and four telecommunications companies have admitted fault for overloading the poles in settlements with the state.
Three of the telephone companies are expected to inspect and upgrade 92 poles in Malibu Canyon by February 2014, and inspect another 2,000. A fourth, NextG, must inspect 60,000 pole attachments across Southern California by Nov. 18, bringing subpar ones into compliance within three years.
Edison must conduct safety audits on all its poles in the Malibu area by March 2015, and fix or replace faulty poles within two years.
AT&T, Sprint and Verizon began their utility pole assessments along Malibu Canyon Road in May 2013, according to documents obtained by The Malibu Times.
Those three phone companies are planning to upgrade safety standards on 92 poles located along a 3.38 mile stretch of Malibu Canyon Road beginning in February 2014.
The companies initially planned to upgrade 82 poles along the road, but their attorneys acknowledged in an Oct. 25 email to the state this was due to a miscount through their use of Google Maps.
“This number was based on poles identified in the Designated Area using a Google ‘ground view’ application,” attorneys Jesus Roman, Nicky Selby and David Discher wrote in an email shared with The Malibu Times.
After sending a team to do an in-person survey of the companies’ inventory, the companies discovered 92 poles.
The phone companies are also in the process of surveying all their joint-use poles (approximately 2,000 poles) in Southern California Edison’s service territory. Any poles found to be overloaded with equipment must be brought into compliance.
NextG is required to audit approximately 30,000 pole attachments in Edison territory and 30,000 non-Edison attachments by Nov. 18. After the audit, NextG must upgrade subpar attachments within three years, according to documents.
Finally, as part of a $37 million settlement in May with the state, Edison must conduct safety assessments of all its poles in the Malibu area by March 2015. Any nonconforming poles require upgrades within two years following the assessment.
Edison has placed highest priority on 151 poles along Malibu Canyon Road stretching from Pacific Coast Highway to Mulholland Highway. Other high-priority areas include Topanga Canyon Boulevard (232 poles), Mulholland Highway (335 poles), Latigo Canyon Road, Kanan Dume Road and “Malibu area high fire and high wind areas” (735 poles).
To improve future compliance, Edison plans on developing a “pole-loading methodology” among all companies sharing equipment, including an online database that tracks pole-loading and constant updates anytime a new attachment is latched onto an Edison-owned pole.
In its May settlement, Edison admitted fault in the 2007 fire and agreed to pay $17 million to establish a “Safety Enhancement Fund” to assess poles in Malibu Canyon and elsewhere in the Malibu area.
Specifically, the state found that Edison failed to identify pole overloading and termite damage as possible contributing factors to the pole’s failure, in addition to high winds. An Edison investigator, Art Peralta, gave state investigators an incomplete copy of data regarding the failed poles. Finally, Edison admitted a failure to disclose to state investigators that it had reused and discarded some equipment that was attached to the failed poles.