SD fire prevention

Mikeala Foehr / Asst. News Editor / The USD Vista

Fire season is nothing new to California, but electric companies’ strategies to cope with the danger are. Two weeks ago on Oct. 9, University of San Diego Public Safety Chief James Miyashiro sent out an email warning of potential power outages in the San Diego area. These outages were to be coordinated by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to combat fire risks. The USD campus was not listed in the affected areas, but many campus community members still stood to be impacted.

“The concern was primarily for staff and students, some of them that may commute from certain sections that were affected by this,” said Miyashiro.

Chief Miyashiro wanted to make sure that community members were aware of whether or not they would be impacted by the outages, so they knew to take any precautions necessary for an abrupt loss of power.

Luckily, SDG&E shut off the power to very few areas in San Diego, and for only a short amount of time. Even Chief Miyashiro, whose home was listed in a potentially affected area, never actually lost power.  

Multiple electric and gas companies across California utilize the strategy of shutting off power to prevent further fire damage. Unfortunately, in some parts of the state, the power outages proved to be a much bigger problem. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which operates in Northern California, shut off power to two million people for multiple days. The shutdown caused life to come to a full stop, with schools and businesses closing during this time.

Chief Miyashiro appreciates that the companies are at least doing something to prevent fires, but wishes that they would put their energies into different initiatives.

“It is good that (SDG&E) are always thinking about fires since, in San Diego, we have them every year and it can cost billions of dollars’ worth of damage,’’ Miyashiro said. “But what I think they should be doing is taking proactive steps to maybe move power lines underground so winds can no longer knock them down.”

Maeve Leinenger, a junior from Napa County, did not agree with the fire prevention strategy, even though she recognizes the need to try and avoid the annual danger.

“There were a lot of people without power for too much time,” Leinenger said. “I realize if you look back at 2017 with how many acres were burned, it does make sense to try and prevent that, but I don’t think shutting everyone’s power off is the best choice.”

Nicole Hunter, a sophomore from the Los Angeles area, doesn’t mind the planned outages as much since she has had multiple experiences with fires accidentally started by electric companies.

 “It pretty much happens every year where electric companies try to fix something and it ends up way worse than it started, so not having power at all when the threat is highest might be a good thing,” Hunter said. 

Hunter recognizes the difficulties of making decisions like these, but for her, fire safety is most important.

 “It is hard in today’s world where we are dependent on electricity for everything, but the climate of Southern California just isn’t made for mistakes like a flying spark,” Hunter said.

 As the fire season continues across the state, power outages like these may become more frequent. With this, it is important to always be prepared. Chief Miyashiro recommends keeping essential devices, such as phones, well charged, as well as having spare batteries working flashlights on hand. 

Additionally, USD Public Safety publishes its Annual Security Report online, which outlines campus emergency and evacuation procedures for every situation the campus community could face. On the topic of fires, the report has tips for managing fires on campus, what to do when encountering a wildfire, where to evacuate to, and how to evacuate from a house if necessary.