Wildfire Awareness Month is a Good Reminder to Start Preparing

Just like you, the Snohomish County PUD is excited to see the sun return as we get ready for another beautiful Pacific Northwest summer.

May ushers in the start of sunny weather – even though we had a sneak peak in April at our Energy Block Party – as we turn our attention toward summer and prepare for wildfire season. May is National Wildfire Awareness Month and at the PUD we’re doing our part to get ready.

We prepare year-round to mitigate risks to our equipment and the environment. We trim over 500 miles of vegetation each year to reduce wildfire risk near power lines and focus our efforts on higher risk areas, including Darrington, the Mountain Loop Highway in Granite Falls, Gold Bar and Index.

The PUD is also testing new equipment that allows us to perform drone inspections in those areas. This helps us identify items that may require maintenance, repair or possible replacement before wildfire season gets underway.

We’re working diligently to make sure we do all we can to keep everyone safe. When working in areas identified as high risk, PUD crews carry fire tools that include 5-gallon backpack water sprayers. When the Department of Natural Resources’ Industrial Fire Protection Level requires it, crews will also carry 300-gallon water tanks with a pump.

Our SnoSMART project will help reduce wildfire risk by allowing staff to switch equipment into wildfire settings remotely, greatly reducing the amount of time it takes to implement these setting.

We update and follow our Wildfire Mitigation Plan each year. Groups from across the PUD meet regularly to discuss the current wildfire risk in our region. The team looks at forecasted temperatures, humidity, wind and other factors to determine our best course of action.

There are a few simple steps you can take to get ready for wildfire season. First off, we recommend signing up for our PUD Wildfire Alert emails by going to snopud.com/wildfirealerts, especially if you are located in a high-risk area. These alerts will keep you apprised of situations as they develop and any proactive measures that we need to take to keep everyone safe.