'SDG&E City' emerges on Gird Road

Amidst the rolling hills of Fallbrook, a new ‘city’ has emerged – ‘SDG&E City’ – a bustling metropolis located in a large vacant lot on the east side of Gird Road.

Restoring service to their customers and keeping their work crews safe is the number one priority of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).

On Monday, October 29, just hours after the Rice Canyon Fire started in Rainbow, crews were dispatched to areas that were out of power. As the situation continued, a temporary command center, equipped with a working yard, a material yard, a staging yard, an overflow truck yard and a housing area where workers could rest and have hot meals, emerged on Gird Road.

The company has placed a site coordinator to contact emergency services at SDG&E if anything more is needed, from small bolts to food for the workers.

“We have lots of damage. We are doing the best that we can,” said Tom Quigley, who is in charge of “Camp Quigley,” as the sign over the doorway of the command post states. “Our crews are working seven days a week, 16-hour shifts.”

Quigley said utility workers have come from as far away as Northern California and Arizona. Additional contracted crews have been brought in to help restore power to areas that are still out of service.

“These people are sleeping four to five hours a day <and> then going back to work,” Quigley said. “They are away from their families and children. They’re tired but keep pushing on.”

There are more than 150 employees with more than 100 trucks working out of the Gird Road site. Digging, gas and electrical overhead crews are coordinated and dispatched from the command center. Jobs are prioritized. Homes that are intact have service restored as soon as possible, while homes that are no longer standing are passed over until owners either move back to the property or start to rebuild.

In areas where poles and equipment are heavily damaged, new poles and equipment are installed. Damaged materials are removed later by another crew. That crew will either properly dispose of or refurbish those items.

“Some areas are so remote that we have to helicopter poles in and out and bulldoze roads in order to access the area,” said Quigley. “We are also restoring service to other areas hit by wildfires – Camp Pendleton, El Cajon, Highland Valley and Rancho Bernardo.”

For up-to-date information, log on to http://www.sdge.com.