Some county officials said Friday they want to close a loophole that exempted the power line that caused the Sesnon fire from inspection or brush clearance rules.
The move comes a day after The Times reported that the electricity distribution line that sparked the huge blaze was not covered under the state's strict inspection and brush clearance rules because it was not owned by an electric utility and was on private land.
"The situation exposed a loophole in the law, a loophole that we should close," Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. "Power lines should be treated at least as stringently as homes, which are not sources of ignition. Homes don't fall over and start fires."
Yaroslavsky said one thing the county should consider is whether it needs its own rules to cover power lines not regulated by the state.
Heavy winds blew down the distribution line in a remote unincorporated area of Los Angeles County north of Porter Ranch, fire officials said, sparking a blaze that destroyed 15 homes and damaged six more, destroyed 47 outbuildings and may have contributed to the death of a motorist driving on the 118 Freeway.
The power line that caused the Sesnon fire is owned by Southern California Gas Co. A spokeswoman said the utility does have power distribution lines around the hilly region to serve offices and equipment for a natural gas storage facility in the area but declined to discuss details about the line in question.
California Public Utilities Commission spokeswoman Susan Carothers said agency staffers met with Southern California Gas officials at the site of the incident and found that a long section of wire running across a canyon had failed and fallen on the ground.
Southern California Gas contracts with Petrelli Electric to maintain the system, she said.
Utilities commission officials stressed that the agency's rules, which are intended to reduce the risk of brush fires sparked by downed power lines, don't apply to the gas company's line because it is not an electric utility.
Yaroslavsky and Supervisor Mike Antonovich plan to introduce their own motion at Tuesday's board meeting calling for an investigation into the role power lines played in the Sesnon fire and how to avert another incident.
Southern California Gas spokeswoman Jennifer Briscoe said she had not seen the supervisors' proposal but said any decision to regulate private power lines was up to the state.
