Biggest Corporate Cover-Up Ever?

ECM SPECIAL REPORT: INVESTIGATOR-TURNED-WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS FAULTY POWER LINE INSTALLATIONS CAUSED 2003 CEDAR AND PARADISE FIRES AS WELL AS WILDFIRES IN 2007; SDG&E DISPUTES CLAIM

February 24, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) — For $50,000, the cost of a single fire engine, SDG&E could fix an allegedly dangerous problem on power lines in San Diego County, according to electrical engineer and insurance investigator Ed Clark. Clark believes faulty installations caused the 2003 Witch and Paradise fires as well as devastating blazes in 2007. SDG&E disputes Clark’s claim and insists its lines are safe.

“This is the biggest corporate cover-up anyone has ever seen,” Clark told East County Magazine in an exclusive interview.
“You look at Enron; that was a $2.5 billion hit on the economy. In the Witch Fire alone, the losses exceeded $4 billion. If you go back to the Cedar and Paradise fires, which I think this also contributed to, it’s even more. Now you understand why SDG&E doesn’t want to fix this thing.”

Full story: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=456_whistleblower

2 other experts confirm Clark's contention that these lines are dangerous to the public and one calls the utility giant owned by Sempra Energy "negligent." (see links in story)


Meanwhile SDG&E wants to march Sunrise Powerlink high-voltage power lines through fire-prone areas, a plan so dangerous even our Republican Supervisor, Dianne Jacob, has condemned the plan, stating the line is unnecesesary and that "Fire risk could not be mitigated." http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=lakeside_protest

I was in California when they privatized the power grid.

Enron was just the tip of the iceberg. I left the state in 2005, I see it hasn't gotten much better.

It was pretty obvious the power traders were more interested in profits than in actually doing anything to improve the grid or service.

And it could happen again tomorrow--unless people stand up and start demanding better safety standards for power lines.

private industry always does it better & cheaper!

:eyes:

And $50,000 could have prevented this. Greed to the Nth degree.

The stress was so great, she wound up in the emergency, and three of her previously healthy cats died within the month, it had been so rough on them.

it was no walk in the park

I took water as well to centers

Could not do more, asthma

Damn there are days I wish we could put some of these CEO's in jail, PERIOD

The fire came about three blocks from their house and they were force out of the house for a week. The only way to find out the house hadn't burned was to call the house and hope the answering machine picked up.

I knew someone who thought their house was lost, but was pleasantly surprised to find out it was still standing in this way.

It helped reassure us that it was safe.



This picture was taken from our office building in Rancho Bernardo, the day that Bush was speaking from the site of the Rancho Bernardo fires about a mile or two north of this intersection. As you can see they had security locking up turning right from the road coming in from the right of this picture from the freeway. we had to turn left there to get to the office that day for the first time since the fires had ended. There now is a Starbucks that has since been built on the corner in the foreground where this picture was taken.

Part of me had hoped that instead of just blocking turning right at that intersection that they'd stopped people going into that intersection. Then, if they had challenged me from entering it because of my "Impeach Bush" bumper sticker, I could have raised holy hell with them for keeping me from getting to work!

And for those who hadn't seen the devastation that was just a block or two away from my office there. Check out this flickr slide show from someone in our office. And you wonder why I've moved to Oregon, and my mom moved from Rancho Bernardo to L.A. since then?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/randiego/sets/72157602728795245/show

I know a woman with emphysema who had to get on a plane and fly to her sister's in the north because she couldn't breathe during the 2007 fires. She almost didn't survive the plane flight, gasping for breath by the time she got there. Another man got Valley Fever from spores blown in by the windstorms in 2003. He's debilitated for life. People don't understand the full consequences of these fires--though the ones we do know about (loss of life, property, and massive inconvenience to everyone who evacuates) should be enough to get the attention of public officials and regulators.

:kick:

for two weeks! It scared the hell out of me.

K and R

But we're all very grateful for so many firefighters from all over the country who came here to help keep these disasters from being even worse.

People should be in jail for this. This story makes me so fucking mad. :grr:

Jail is for people who have expired plate tags or who are busted with a couple of ounces of pot. :spank: