Project to underground power lines in Tubbs Fire zone underway

SONOMA COUNTY – Cal Fire said three of the top five deadliest wildfires in our state’s history happened since 2017, including the Tubbs Fire that tore through Santa Rosa neighborhoods. An effort to underground power lines aims to protect the area from future fires.

Driving up Mark West Springs Road east of Santa Rosa, one may not see ember and ash from the 2017 Tubbs Fire any longer. Other signs abound, in the form of newly-built and under construction homes.

Twenty-two people died in the Tubbs Fire and more than 5,600 buildings burned in the fire sparks by a private electrical system.

As part of its promise after sparking deadly wildfires across the state, Pacific Gas & Electric is undergrounding two miles of lines that will cross Porter Creek Road and feed Safari West.

“We know it cuts ignition risk by 99%, because the lines are underground,” said Deanna Contreras, spokeswoman for PG&E.

The project is personal to PG&E Regional Vice President Ron Richardson, who grew up in Sonoma County.

“I had some close friends that lost their homes, that just recently want to get their homes rebuilt. It’s tough. It’s tough seeing what some of those individuals had to go through in the process. To me that’s why this is so important,” Richardson told KPIX 5.

First, trenches must be dug, then conduit laid and then electrical lines fed through it. The two-mile Porter Creek stretch will take four to five months to complete, at the cost of $3.5 million a mile.

“If we had a spark happen in this area, you think about how fast would that be in the Riblei and in the Fountaingrove area. It would be there very quickly. We’re looking at these areas trying to be strategic. Where do we need to go first to remove that risk?” Richardson explained.

While some lines will be underground, there will still be traditional poles, but those poles will look different with extra fire retardant wrapped all the way around. Those above ground lines will be recalibrated as well, to automatically shut off if a tree branch falls.

PG&E is undergrounding 175 miles of electrical lines this year, 43 of those in the Bay Area. The goal is to underground 10,000 miles of lines by 2030.