Placer County reviews PG&E Wildfire Safety Program

The Placer County Board of Supervisors received an overview of Pacific Gas & Electric's Community Wildfire Safety Program on Tuesday. Brandon Sanders, Sierra Division public affairs officer for PG&E, shared the three focal areas of the program is to reduce wildfire potential, improve situational awareness and reduce impacts of Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. Efforts new to the program this year include providing batteries to customers who have a medical need, ensuring community resource centers are ADA compliant and partnerships with nonprofits throughout the county to support the community during PSPS events. PG&E is continuing its efforts of system hardening to increase the resiliency of areas where fire threat is greatest, and installing sectionalizing devices. Sanders said "sectionalizing devices are probably the biggest benefit to the county" to limit the number of customers impacted by PSPS events, and work has been completed in Auburn, Loomis and Rocklin. Sanders noted a switch was installed in Lincoln to mitigate impacts to the city, however, rural areas of Lincoln could potentially still be affected. "Really, the emphasis has been around the city of Auburn, and we've greatly diminished the prospects for PSPS within the city centers that are sort of outside of that high fire threat area," Sanders said. Sanders confirmed the company continues enhanced vegetative management efforts. "We have done some extensive vegetative management work," he said. "That's probably the highest risk during high wind events is vegetative contact with our conductor. We continue to be very aggressive on that, not just in Placer but in surrounding counties." Sanders' presentation notes 86 line miles of enhanced vegetation management is planned for 2021, and no 2021 plans for system hardening line miles or sectionalizing devices. Sanders said the numbers are low due to being aggressive in Placer County when the program began. According to the presentation, PG&E reviews the following factors when determining if power needs to be turned off: Low humidity levels, generally 30 percent and below. Forecast high winds above 20 mph and gusts above 30-40 mph. A red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service. Condition of dry material on the ground and vegetation near lines. On-the-ground real-time observations. This year, the process determining whether a PSPS event is necessary will also include accounting for the presence of trees tall enough to strike power lines. Sanders noted PG&E will continue the "cadence of communication" to deliver notifications of shutoffs before, during and after events. New this year, the company will provide address alerts for individuals who want updates for a family member's home, their workplace or their child's school or daycare. More information about PG&E's Community Wildfire Safety Program can be found at pge.com/wildfiresafety. Residents can opt in for address alerts at pge.com/addressalerts.