The first home in the Palisades has electrical wires coming from the back. When a home is constructed a dual panel needs to be placed on the home in order for undergrounding to take place.
After the Palisades Fire, when numerous electrical poles were down in the Alphabet Streets and in the area below Sunset Boulevard, many people reported that subsequent sparks/embers came from downed electrical lines.
One firefighter told CTN that there were “live” lines in the Alphabet Streets, which made navigation difficult. The electrical power was not shut off.
Although the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the provider for Pacific Palisades, Southern California Edison’s guidance for first responders includes: Secure the area. Keep yourself and the public at least 100 feet away from fallen power lines: Stay clear of all downed lines and anything they are contacting, including nearby fences, trees, cable or phone lines, and the ground: and Be extremely cautious when using water to fight fires near downed power lines. If you must use water, use only a mist or spray. Do not use a stream—it can create a clear path for current.
Given that information and the fact that all Pacific Palisades is in a very high fire severity zone, Palisades residents have requested that undergrounding of power lines be done.
With new homes being constructed and a different electrical panel needed for undergrounding, CTN checked with DWP to see if the panel is required by Building and Safety to obtain a certificate of occupancy.
DWP Communications’ Christina Holland responded November 26, “Installing conduit now is not required but is recommended.
“LADWP also recommends the use of a combination panel to accommodate future undergrounding,” Holand said. “Each property has unique circumstances, and our rebuild team will provide specific instructions and timelines. Residents are encouraged to visit our support center at 3931 South Topanga Blvd, Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. or email us PalisadesRebuild@LADWP.com for guidance on their individual situation.”
The first home at 915 Kagawa, a Thomas James Home, does not have the combination panel. How many other homes that are nearing completion in the Alphabet Streets are also not prepared for undergrounding?
DWP presented the steps needed for undergrounding in an August 27 meeting, but those steps have not been codified in the building process. A resident pointed out that without DWP clarifying to building and safety about undergrounding requirements, there is “no way for anyone to track to ensure that parcels being rebuilt are doing DWP requirements. “If only one property does this wrong and has the meter at the back of the house, the poles will need to remain,” the resident said.
CTN reached out to a Thomas James Representative Allison Chvojan who wrote “At the time 915 Kagawa was under construction, the City had not yet determined that undergrounding was required. (That work will be completed retroactively.) Thomas James Homes complies with all applicable City codes and requirements.”
Reza Akef, local builder of Polaris Homes, clarified “It’s true that Thomas James’ new home does not have the underground electrical conduit to the property line at the time of Certificate of Occupancy.”
Akef said that the cost to add it is between $6,000 to $10,000, depending on the distance of the meter to the property line. “LADWP should be telling homeowners NOW whether their power go underground before they spend what little rebuild money they have,” he said.
For this home to be hooked to undergrounding, a trench will need to be dug on the side of the home and ideally should be done during construction.
The hoopla around this site is overblown. The construction was permitted pre-Fire and the initial work was undamaged by the fire. It explains a bit why no undergrounding is present but that could have been done before finishing it.
The site should be labeled: “First to receive occupancy post fire” and should not be regarded as the first of the rebuilds.
“Undergrounding” can be done at a later date. If DWP was charged with undergrounding all utilities it would take years for the plans to be drawn, reviewed, implemented into work schedules and performed. Much quicker to replace known power poles, get the community up and running again and dig trenches in the 2030s. PS Power poles were casualties, not causes of the fire. PPS Anybody that rebuilds without a swimming pool, piped pump station and crash pump with 100′ hoses is the definition of an optimist.