California IN BRIEF : CROCKETT : Wires in Crash Criticized in 1977

The state was warned as far back as 1977 that power lines across the Carquinez Strait, snagged by helicopters in two fatal crashes, pose a danger and should be marked. “The state essentially disregarded” pleas for markers, contending it had no money for the project, the Contra Costa Times reported. State Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Drago on Wednesday said the department would “consider again looking into the possibility of markers if redirected by the Legislature or the governor.” The warnings were issued at hearings stemming from a 1974 crash in which two men died when their helicopter struck the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. lines crisscrossing the strait. On Saturday, a helicopter hit the same line, crashing and killing all five aboard.