POWER TRIP

Chopper company on the job with pole repairs in Old Agoura



CHANGING OF THE GUARD—A helicopter crew replaces an old and damaged wooden telephone pole on Nov. 1 in Old Agoura. Courtesy of Stephen Cirigliano

CHANGING OF THE GUARD—A helicopter crew replaces an old and damaged wooden telephone pole on Nov. 1 in Old Agoura. Courtesy of Stephen Cirigliano

Telephone poles are the perfect fuel for wildfires, but next time a conflagration rolls through the region utility companies are hoping to have the upper hand.

In the Woolsey fire some 1,400 poles were damaged or destroyed and 175 miles of bare wiring was lost. Following the fire, Southern California Edison began installing stronger poles, insulated power lines and improved sensor devices, especially in the canyon areas. The company has said the new equipment will reduce the risk of severed lines sparking a blaze.

Public safety officials prefer the area’s electrical lines be buried, but having materials above ground that won’t readily burn is the next best thing. While metallic poles can help, even some of those were damaged in the fires.

At the very least, Edison wants to make sure its poles are up to date and free from damage.

On Nov. 1, crews from Costa Mesa-based HeliStream helicopter services pulled up an old and damaged wooden pole from the 28000 block of Balkins Drive in Old Agoura and replaced it with a newer model. Power was out from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. while a helicopter removed the old pole dating back to 2002.

“The metal poles are much bigger, and are being used in more of an open area, like Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Santa Clarita, Lancaster and Palmdale,” said HeliStream’s Stephen Cirigliano.

“This (new) wooden pole that was used is thicker than the previous pole,” said Cirigliano, an Old Agoura resident.

Because of a bad foundation the pole threatened a homeowner’s property. “This one was leaning pretty good,” Cirigliano said, also adding, “The pole did have prior fire damage to the top.”

“There was one point where an inspector noticed there had been some arcing on the wires, which was a problem we’d fixed,” Edison’s Mary Anne Milbourn said.

In the coming weeks several more poles must be removed due to their old age and poor condition, the officials said.