Utility-caused wildfires

Throughout the world, utilities, especially overhead power lines, have caused wildfires.Boxall, Bettina (5 January 2020). "Human-caused ignitions spark California's worst wildfires but get little state focus". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. In 2023, downed power lines sparked fires in Lahaina, Hawaii.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-03 |title=Deadly Maui wildfire was sparked by downed power lines, investigation finds |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/deadly-maui-wildfire-sparked-downed-013944955.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALjLq3HjGT03sXcasJWfIeUjYK2cRj3VrDj_dudZ2AlrbgRqxEKVA6GmZQfUQGbW1Lgxtio3ptD4km8ZMld2GCyYW2klbyzqB0uCDlLt5yNcaEv3tdgtoJ3duZAzhjADbBPD3BZcWQ9WqdZz61d1uP7yQ6HxRrPK-RO2fbtfTtSK |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}} In February 2024, on the Texas Panhandle, a decayed utility pole fell on dry grass and sparked the largest wildfire in state history.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=Decayed power pole sparked the largest wildfire in state history, Texas House committee confirms |url=https://www.marfapublicradio.org/2024-05-02/decayed-power-pole-sparked-the-largest-wildfire-in-state-history-texas-house-committee-confirms |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=Marfa Public Radio, radio for a wide range. |language=en}} The 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California state history, was caused by a single faulty hook on a PG&E transmission line.Zimmerman, Jeffrey. November 2018 Camp Fire. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jan. 2020, [https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/sa1162SignedReport.pdf. https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/sa1162SignedReport.pdf.] {{Cite web |last=Derbeken • • |first=Jaxon Van |date=2019-12-06 |title=New Images of PG&E Hooks on Camp Fire Power Line Released |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/new-images-of-pge-hooks-on-camp-fire-power-line-released/2190709/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=NBC Bay Area |language=en-US}} In the notorious 2009 'Black Saturday' fires in Victoria, Australia fires sparked by power lines killed 159 people and caused more than $4 billion (AUS) dollars in damages.{{Cite web |title=How an Australian State Fought Back Against Grid-Sparked Wildfires - IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-an-australian-state-faced-devastation-from-gridsparked-wildfires |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=spectrum.ieee.org |language=en}} In Greece, on August 11th 2024, a wooden electricity pillar with a loose cable held with a clothes hanger, sparked a fire that killed one woman and burned over 10,000 hectares.{{Cite news |last1=Souliotis |first1=Yannis |last2=Maltezou |first2=Renee |date=15 August 2024 |title=Faulty power cable may have caused Greece's worst wildfire this year, sources say |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/faulty-power-cable-may-have-caused-greeces-worst-wildfire-this-year-2024-08-15/}}

Utility-cased wildfires can be started by a variety of factors.

The vast majority of transmission lines, over 70%, in the United States are outdated, and are near 25 years old.[http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/08/f25/QER%20Summary%20for%20Policymakers%20April%202015.pdf U.S. Department of Energy. Quadrennial Energy Review Energy Transmission, Storage, and Distribution Infrastructure.] 2015. The average age for power transformers that power over 90% of the country is 40 years old.{{Cite web |last=Tompkins |first=Al |date=2022-12-27 |title=When will we update our power grid? |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2022/when-will-we-update-our-power-grid/ |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Poynter |language=en-US}} Power lines, whether old or new, are susceptible to storm damage, and, in 30% of cases, the power line does not automatically shut off.{{Cite web |date=2014-02-13 |title=How Do Power Lines Cause Wildfires? |url=https://wildfiremitigation.tees.tamus.edu/faqs/how-power-lines-cause-wildfires |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=Texas Wildfire Mitigation Project |language=en-US}} This can happen when the fallen line draws too little electric current to activate a fuse or circuit breaker. These high-impedance faults (HiZ) can cause high-energy, high-temperature arcing that can cause ignition.

Vegetation contact, and contact with foreign objects, such as trees, are leading causes of wildfires. In California, these factors were responsible for 35%, and 18%, respectively, of utility-related fires larger than 10 acres. Strong winds have been known to exacerbate these problems. Live wires can ignite dry vegetation and fuels, and fallen trees can result in downed lines.

Power lines are traditionally designed with significant clearance between conductors, this prevents them from contacting under normal operating conditions.{{Cite web |title=Power Line Safety |url=https://signs.org/codes-regulations/federal-regulations/power-line-safety/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=International Sign Association |language=en-US}} Under poor conditions, line conductors can slap against one another; this causes high energy arcing, and, occasionally, small bits of molten metal (generally aluminum) are ejected.{{Cite web |last=Short |first=Tom |date=10 October 2024 |title=Conductor Slap |url=https://sagroups.ieee.org/td-sop/wp-content/uploads/sites/134/2022/01/2022-JTCM-EPRI-Conductor-Slap.pdf |access-date= |website=Electric Power Research Institute}} These ejected pieces of molten aluminum can ignite wildfires.

Many components, such as switches, transformers and insulators, contain thousands of complex circuits and parts.{{Cite web |date=10 October 2024 |title=Transformers: Explaining the basics |url=https://www.galco.com/comp/prod/trnsfmrs.htm#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20primary%20parts,is%20connected%20at%20this%20point. |website=CALCO}} While often able to effectively provide service for decades, they do eventually fail. Occasionally, before complete failures, there is electric arcing and sparks that are too small to be detected by fail-safe sensors. These sparks and electric arcs can result in the ignition of vegetation or foreign objects.

Electric companies are investigating solutions such as burying power lines, installing sensors, and using software to monitor cables and automatically shut them off. In 2023 wildfire mitigation plans, Californian utility companies proposed over $9 billion to mitigate factors that cause wildfires.{{Cite journal |last1=Warner |first1=Cody |last2=Callaway |first2=Duncan |last3=Fowlie |first3=Meredith |date=February 2024 |title=Risk-Cost Tradeoffs in Power Sector Wildfire Prevention |url=https://haas.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/WP347.pdf |journal=Energy Institute at Haas}}

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Category:Wildfires

Category:Types of fire