From the left-coast paradise. Soon to visit your state?

"We here in 2nd-world California don’t have drifting snow (hi, Colorado!) but we don’t have electricity either. 

Our utility, PG&E, has imposed yet another “Public Safety Power Shutdown,” beginning at 8:00 p.m. last night and continuing until who knows when.
(All the areas marked with a magenta triangle on the map have no power.) 

PG&E’s justification is that high winds were forecast, causing extreme fire danger. 

But, there hasn’t been even a mild breeze, before the shutdown or since then. 

Apparently no one at PG&E can stick their head out a window and look at the ACTUAL WEATHER. So we’ve once again rolled the generator out of the garage and fired it up, so at least we can keep the refrigerator running, the lights on, and our phones charged. 

 (A gasoline-powered generator has to be one of the dirtiest means of generating electricity.) 

Come to find that our Internet provider, Comcast, in solidarity with PG&E, has shut down all Internet service to the affected areas, despite the fact that the cable is UNDERGROUND and poses no fire risk. 

This is what happens when the state imposes strict liability on utilities for all fire damages caused by a downed wire, regardless of negligence. 

The utility has zero incentives to keep the power on."