Regional utility companies work to mitigate wildfire risks
Grant County PUD crews repair a transmission line. Keeping lines in good repair reduces fire risk, according to utility officials from throughout the Pacific and Inland Northwest.
COURTESY PHOTO/GRANT COUNTY PUD
Kootenai Electric Cooperative crews monitor the situation during red flag warning weather Aug. 17. Monitoring electrical lines during extreme weather is one of the techniques used by utilities to reduce the risk of fire.
Kootenai Electric Cooperative crews work on a power line. Line maintenance and ensuring cabling won't interact with trees or other items helps prevent fires and mitigates the risk of outages.
Bonneville Power Administration crews use a helicopter to replace an insulator. Damaged equipment is susceptible to sparking, which could lead to a fire, BPA officials said.
Kootenai Electric Cooperative crews work on a power line, with the skeletons of trees in the background. Dead or weakened trees can be a fire hazard when they’re too close to electrical lines.
COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — The interaction of electrical lines and the landscape around them, especially trees, often ends badly — it can cause power outages any time of year, but in the summer, in particular, it can cause fires. Keeping fires from happening requires close attention to power lines and the areas around them, and that’s not just a summer job.
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