Remain Vigilant—Wildfire Season Is Here
It is wildfire season again, and if you had a chance to read last month’s article “The Growing Risk of Wildfires,” you know we take this season seriously because it has significant impacts on your cooperative. This month, we share what Wasco Electric Cooperative does throughout the year to prepare and what you can do to help.
Each year, WEC staff and directors review our wildfire mitigation plan. This critical tool outlines how we identify, manage, and reduce wildfire risks within our control. The plan details our approach to vegetation management, equipment inspections, and coordination with local emergency services.
A key component of the plan is addressing vegetation near our infrastructure. The varied vegetation across our service territory is continuously monitored not only to ensure reliable power but also to promote safety and prevent wildfires.
Overhanging branches, brush, and other obstructions can pose serious hazards, especially during severe weather such as high winds or storms. Falling trees or limbs can damage infrastructure, cause outages, and even endanger lives. Overgrown vegetation near power lines also significantly increases the risk of wildfire ignition during dry and windy conditions. By maintaining clear rights of way, WEC reduces these risks, improving the safety of our crews and the public, ensuring reliable service, and creating defensible space that helps prevent fires and limits their spread should one occur.
Reliability is not just part of our mission—it is a vital part of the service we provide. That is why Public Safety Power Shutoffs are considered only as a last resort. Still, there may be times when this preventive measure is necessary to reduce wildfire risk during extreme weather.
When high winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation combine to create a heightened fire danger, we may have no choice but to activate a PSPS. This strategy is intended to prevent our electrical equipment from sparking fires, helping protect lives and property.
While PSPS events can be inconvenient, they are a necessary precaution to help prevent catastrophic wildfires. We do our best to provide advance notice so you can prepare, but due to rapidly changing weather conditions, early warning is not always possible. When that happens, we communicate with you as best we can.
To learn more about what you can do to help reduce wildfire risks, visit our new website.
General Manager Lindsay Forepaugh