A local East County planning group is calling for deeper wildfire and public safety review of SDG&E's proposed Suncrest 230-kilovolt Loop-In Project before regulators make a final decision.

According to East County Magazine, the Crest-Dehesa-Granite Hills-Harbison Canyon Subregional Planning Group voted unanimously last week to adopt an advisory resolution outlining concerns about the project. The proposal would construct about 14.5 miles of new double-circuit 230-kV transmission line connecting existing Transmission Line 23021 with the Suncrest Substation east of Alpine.

The resolution says major infrastructure projects proposed in high-fire-risk areas should show they reduce, rather than increase, net wildfire and public safety risk for affected communities. Planning group members also asked for a detailed, community-specific review of potential effects on evacuation safety, emergency access, aerial firefighting, fire suppression, maintenance and construction impacts.

For Santee readers, the project is not in Santee, but it sits within East County's broader wildfire and electric-reliability conversation. The planning group's concerns focus on wildfire risk, evacuation safety, emergency access and electric reliability in nearby inland communities.

The project is under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission, and the planning group does not have authority to approve or deny it. East County Magazine reported that residents can submit comments directly to the CPUC, while the planning group has posted project information and links to public agency documents on its website.