Are underground or above ground power lines safer?
Last Thursday’s rainstorm was so powerful it took down multiple power poles in this neighborhood in the Palm Desert Country Club.
“I looked over and the pole was falling and there were sparks everywhere,” said Gary Houtz.
“Two little girls are running toward me screaming ‘help us, my mom my mom,’ in blood,” said Renee Lovett.
Lovett took photos of the power pole that fell directly on top of a car (see video). The family inside was able to get out of the car safely, but seeing the damage makes Lovett question living near above-ground power poles.
“I’m freaked out. I didn’t think about how many were above until the power guys were here,” Lovett said.
“Having lived in both situations,I think the underground lines are safer,” Houtz said.
“The underground would be safer,” said Randy Luke who lives across the street from Lovett and Houtz.
We called Southern California Edison about the dangers of above vs below ground lines and a spokeswoman told us they can both be equally dangerous.
In a rare event during a storm, above-ground lines can be struck by lightning or pushed over by strong winds. But underground lines can flood and according to SCE they can also take much longer to repair because it’s harder to pinpoint problems underground.
Fixing the overhead power lines in this neighborhood took more than 24 hours after Thursday’s storm.
“You don’t realize how much you need electricity until it’s gone,” Luke said of the terrible heat homeowners dealt with Friday.
But even if all the neighbors decided they wanted to bury the power lines, it wouldn’t be easy.
The change costs millions of dollars and homeowners here voted against underground lines back in 2011 when the city’s redevelopment agency was going to pay for the job. Now, it would have to come out of homeowners pockets.
And since that’s not likely, Lovett says she’s just going to be more cautious around these lines.
“I feel eery, I don’t feel comfortable around any type of wind at least for a little bit because of that,” she said.
