Edison Installs Splintered Pole – Crack Right Up The Middle

Southern California Edison company installed a new power pole in Malibu yesterday … along Morning View Drive …. at Phillip Avenue.

Even from across the street … as the new pole laid on the street before installation… it was quite obvious.

A huge crack was visible  … right up the center of the pole.

We’ve posted a photo of it at the KBUU website and Facebook page.

The code that regulates utility poles prohibits the installation of poles that are damaged lime that.

Rule 49 point 1.

“Wood poles shall be of sound timber, free from defects which would materially reduce their strength or durability.”

The crack in this pole meant that about 45 percent of the bottom of the pole was only loosely connected to the weight at the top of the pole.

Winds create sideways loads of thousands of pounds … and poles with major cracks are subject to catastrophic failure.

A city inspector was called out,… he arrived after the pole was planted in the ground.

He told KBUU News that the pole had been inspected and approved by Edison before it was put in the ground … and that he took Edison’s word that it was safe,

Edison has in the recent past been found to have installed new poles in Malibu … that were overloaded and unsafe the day they were erected.

Edison also has been found by the California Public Utilities Commission to have inspected its poles improperly … and ignored evidence of structural weakness.

Some of these instances have led to pole failure … and fires.

City manager Reva Feldman has now asked Southern California Edison if it can assure the city … that the pole meets legal requirements despite a photo that shows it is split in half at the bottom by a crack.

Edison at first told KBUU News it was checking its records …. then late last night said the matter had been referred to the company’s lawyers.