Having to wrap your head around. " Im not going home ."
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It really is just all so sad. A colleague had 2 family members who lost their homes in Altadena, and the extended family of a good friend also lost their home in Altadena.
But I have one colleague who lives right near the Getty Villa and, at last check, his home was intact. And another acquaintance in Altadena who said the fires came w/i 50 yds of his home, but his home is okay.
So random and just a reminder of how powerless we are. But, at the same time, at least they are all alive.
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The question on my mind, the grief and dismay aside, why wasnât the power shut down? I thought there was protocol in place for such dynamic weather events.
I havenât done any reading about this, but was the initial fire in the Palisades caused by a power line? I assume that, when thereâs an initial fire and in winds like that, cutting power may not do much (but I have absolutely no practical or academic knowledge about this).
And then for the people evacuating, having power still feeding the traffic lights and such might be vital. We had line that went out (I think) in West LA last weekend, and the traffic lights werenât even blinking red within a mile radius. It was absolutely terrifying to drive during that time (b/c a few people just blew through the âblankâ light).
There has been no indication that the Palisades or Eaton fires started with downed power lines. I have heard rumblings of questionable origin that the Palisades fire started in someoneâs backyard, but thatâs totally unverified at this point.
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To clarify, I mean cautionary rolling blackouts during weather events. Iâm not suggesting the causes for any of these fires. I believe this is done in other areas.
I believe DWP doesnât do preemptive power shutoffs. And as others have said, no indication any of the major fires from this week have been set by utility infrastructure
Thanks for clarifying. 
Evacuation warnings sent in error just a few mins ago. Good grief, Iâm glad I go into work (since all of us were like, This has to be some kind of error since this area hasnât been in any immediate danger since the fires started). Not good for nerves that are already a bit frayedâŠ
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Very very frayed.
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Props to all of the restaurants offering free meals to first responders and people displaced by the fires.
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Perhaps not the DWP, but definitely there have been preventative shutoffs in the area and the weather warnings I saw early this week mentioned possible power shutdowns to prevent fire (as well as from high winds) :
âMore than 400,000 electricity customers across California remained without power Thursday evening; power to about half that number was shut off to try to keep more wildfires from starting. The utility said it could take several days to restore power because of weather conditions and the need to inspect power lines for safety.â
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The Rose Bowl is serving food and taking donations 24/7. What they need most:
water lotsa water
non-perishables: small bags of chips, tortillas, cans, jars, salsa, etc.
bananas
dog & cat food
Theyâre cooking so maybe hot dogs & sausages
warm clothing kids & adults (does not have to be new)
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So nice to hear about kindness and generosity during a time like this.
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Based on my experience, by the time DWP could react to an urgent event, said event would no longer exist
FYI I was wrongâDWP does do preemptive shutoffs now.
Update: Rose Bowl would like people to stay away for now to keep the area open for emergency personnel. Theyâre coming up with another plan for receiving much needed donations. TBCâŠ
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Unconfirmed, but comments on IG indicate that the restaurant and plaza survived.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEdRdt7y46R/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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