Within our power?

Most of the moisture that falls in Carson Valley over the course of a year falls on just a few days.

That’s why trying to track things like drought effects is difficult, because one day weather watchers are wringing their hands and the next day they are literally digging out.

It’s part of the charm of this place that you never know what Mother Nature has in store for it from one week to another.

It can also be infuriating as Sierra cement clings to tree branches and power lines with obvious effects, causing residents to spend hours and or even days without electricity.

In just October and November, residents obtained building permits to install two-dozen generators to ensure the lights stay on and those with wells continue to have water.

Residents in town generally have their streets plowed and the water keeps flowing despite outages. But for those living along the edge in Douglas County, losing power is a major issue, especially when a big wet storm rolls in, like it did this weekend.

There’s a reason new construction tends to favor underground power lines, and it’s not just about the view.

Having power lines hanging out in the weather is cheaper, but hardly safer means of delivering electricity to homes.

We’ve heard a lot about the Paradise Fire in connection with a proposal to reduce lanes on Highway 50. If there hadn’t been issues with power infrastructure, there wouldn’t have been a fire to flee.

We appreciate the work fire crews funded by NV Energy have been doing to clear the base of power poles of flammable vegetation.

We recognize that undergrounding power is an expensive proposition and one that rate payers are unlikely to support funding until the consequences become unbearable.