Snohomish PUD Works to Keep Everyone Safe, Mitigate Risk During Wildfire Season

It’s the heart of summer in the Pacific Northwest, which means we are also in the middle of wildfire season.

At Snohomish County PUD we prepare year-round to do all we can to mitigate potential risks to our equipment and the environment. We trim over 500 miles of vegetation each year in an effort to prevent outages before they occur.

Late last year we took it one step further. After the Washington State Legislature passed a law that required all Washington electric utilities to create a wildfire mitigation plan, teams from across the PUD got to work. With some protocols already in place, the new plan  ensured that our protocols are the most thorough and effective that could be.

Starting in May, our Wildfire Risk Team meets weekly to discuss the current state of wildfire threat in our region. They look at forecasted temperatures, humidity, wind and other factors to determine a best course of action.

Potential actions we can take to mitigate wildfire risks include disabling select reclosers (equipment that attempts to “reclose” a power line back into power if a fault is detected) so that if a power pole or wire were to fall they wouldn’t spark and potentially ignite something.

During times of high wildfire risk and in potentially high ignition areas, PUD crews use battery powered chainsaws instead of gas-powered ones and are outfitted with a water can, fire extinguisher and firefighting equipment when applicable.

Finally, our last resort of protection is a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). These would be very rare and only called if extreme conditions were present. If a PSPS is called, we would deenergize entire circuits in vulnerable areas to protect against the threat of having our equipment accidentally spark a fire. We know this is an extreme step, and we have a robust plan to communicate with customers before, during and after a PSPS is called.

Annually, in an effort to protect infrastructure near wildfire-vulnerable areas, our tree trimming crews are focusing their efforts on tree, limb and brush removal near power lines. This helps protect our infrastructure and mitigates the wildfire threat.

You can learn more about how we prepare for wildfire season, and see a few tips you can do to be ready, on our website. In addition, you can sign up for PUD Wildfire Alert emails by clicking here. We use this list to be proactive and get important info out to everyone during wildfire season. We recently sent our first email out during last month’s Red Flag Warning.

The PUD is dedicated to providing safe, reliable and affordable power to all of our customers, regardless of what Mother Nature throws at us. From storms to wildfires, we work every day to ensure our customers and employees are safe.