[quote=spdrun]Hopefully the lawsuits from people left without water to fight fires will make them think twice next time.[/quote]
The problem is sparking power lines have caused some very serious forest fires. Shutting down the power is a safety measure to prevent powerline sparking from starting another fire. Many people in the back-country do have backup generators, backup batteries and even their own small gas powered fire pumps. They will not fight fire directly from wells because wells do not flow the rate of water needed to fight a fire. They will use stored water. They will also use their own tractors/dozers to create layers of protection.
There is a significant amount of time that occurs before firefighting equipment can make it to the scene in the back-country. Not all the access is on paved roads.
NOTE: Water supply in the back country does not operate directly from a well. The well recharges a water storage tank as well as a diaphram based ‘pressurizer’. The pressurizer is used so that a pump does not have to run 24/7 to have line pressure within the house. City water also works on the same principle. Water is pumped to large tanks located higher than the residents (in the hills). Pumps only need to be run to recharge/refill these tanks. You can see them on Google maps. Here is one of them: Mostly inground for Carmel Valley Where it is flat, you get these water towers. There are a few of these in San Diego. http://sohosandiego.org/main/event_uhwatertower031013b.htm tin man
