A blaze of fires hit Rancho Palos Verdes, destroying many homes and properties in the area, during the last few weeks of summer. The fires which started around August 27th have mostly subsided through the efforts of firefighters, and fortunately, much of the damage was kept to a minimum.
Much of the public questioned how the initial spark of fire was set. According to the county fire official, the cause to this disastrous happening could have been an electrical problem. Assistant Chief Barry Nugent believed the fires were “accidental in nature” and could have resulted from power pole problems in the general location. However, it is unknown if “a line was downed, a transformer blew, or an animal caused wires to spark.” If it is found that the cause was electrical, Southern California Edison officials will conduct a meeting to prevent such an incident from occurring again. As a result of the blaze 1,200 people were forced to abandon their homes and seek shelter elsewhere, and 3,000 Edison customers lost power.
Since September 11, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, which maintains the quality of the environment, is working with the city to determine the number of fire damages that have taken place. Many places in Palos Verdes have closed, including the Portuguese Bend Reserve trail run, which will be closed until solutions for the accident is discussed at the upcoming Rancho Palos Verdes City Council meeting on October 6.