Many of the most recent — and worst — of those fires have been started by downed or sparking power lines. In October, as fire season began, the rollout of these “public safety power shut-offs” was a disaster. First, the power lines must be made safer. We know how power lines start fires: Tree limbs are blown by high winds into overhead wires. For example, despite high winds, some power lines continued to be energized in risky areas.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 29, 2019 12:00 UTC