Utilities in Oregon Advise to Prepare Now for Wildfires

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(TNS) – The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC), Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and Idaho Power encourage Oregonians to prepare for wildfire season.

“Everyone has a part to play this summer in keeping our communities safe,” the PUC and utility companies state in a release.

PGE, Pacific Power and Idaho Power invest year-round in methods to reduce wildfire risk and prepare their electric grids to deliver safe, reliable power, the release reads. The utiltiy companies partner with tribes and federal, state and local agencies to plan and prepare for the upcoming wildfire season.

The state of Oregon requires investor-owned utilities to submit annual plans that provide a comprehensive overview of each utility’s strategies for mitigating wildfire risk and keeping customers and communities safe. The PUC is reviewing 2024 wildfire mitigation plans.

“In Oregon, everyone plays a role in keeping communities safe from wildfire. The Oregon Public Utility Commission invests significant effort in auditing all utilities’ tree trimming statewide and focuses on how utilities are changing their operations and equipment to increase the safety and resiliency of their services,” PUC Commissioner Letha Tawney said. “Likewise, every resident has a vital part in reducing and preparing for the changing risk of extreme wildfires in their community. Customers should particularly prepare for Public Safety Power Shutoffs during extreme weather. Together, we can safeguard Oregon and its residents.”

Resources to help every Oregonian get ready for wildfire season are available at wildfire.oregon.gov, where tips are offered about everything from staying informed about wildfire and wildfire-related outages to making a plan for evacuations to establishing defensible spaces that help slow the spread of wildfire.

PGE, Pacific Power and Idaho Power also share these additional tips on ways to stay safe and be prepared this fire season.

Have a plan

* Consider relocating with a friend, family member or shelter, especially if medication or treatment of a medical condition requires electricity.

* Businesses should communicate their outage-response plans to key employees, plan for workarounds to computers and cash registers and make a plan to bypass electronic door locks.

* Plan for livestock water needs in case well pumps lose power.

* Know how to open and close electric garage doors and security gates.

* Learn how to protect home and business electronics and appliances against data loss and surge damage when power is restored.

Make an outage kit

* Prepare your home and businesses by making an outage kit to use in case wildfire leads to a power outage.

* Be sure to include shelf-stable food, water for people, pets and livestock, medications, flashlights, batteries and solar or car chargers for electric devices. Keep ice packs or frozen water in the freezer to help keep food cold until ice is available.

* Outage kits should also include flashlights or camp lights for all areas, including restrooms, battery-powered or hand-crank radios for information, battery-powered fans, extra batteries, car chargers for cell phones and electric devices, bottled water and emergency phone numbers.

* Businesses should prepare to minimize disruption, keep employees safe and protect equipment.

Stay informed

Here are a few steps you can take to make sure you receive up-to-date wildfire information:

* Contact your electricity provider or log in to your account and make sure all contact information is current so you can receive alerts and messages.

* If you rely on electricity to store medication or operate medical equipment, enroll in your electric provider’s Medical Certificate Program, if available, to receive proactive communications about outages. Make a backup plan with your doctor and other medical providers.

* Visit Oregon Alert to find your local alert system. Provide current contact details and sign up for wildfire alerts.

The increase in wildfires started in or exacerbated by extreme wind events has grown, making electrical power shutoffs more common and making wildfires harder to predict, according to Amanda Stasiewicz, a University of Oregon social scientist focusing on policy and human impacts of wildfire, as well as forest and rangeland management.

In a report first published in the Oregon Capital Chronicle, Stasiewicz said utilities across the West are developing better plans and faster processes for deploying public safety power shutoffs, which allow them to deenergize part of the electric grid during bad weather conditions where there’s a high risk electric infrastructure could start or contribute to a wildfire.

Information, resources and checklists

PGE customers can visit portlandgeneral.com/wildfiresafety for information about how PGE works to protect people, property and public spaces, including its 2024 Wildfire Mitigation Plan for information, checklists and additional resources.

Pacific Power customers can visit pacificpower.net/wildfiresafety for resources and information including an outage preparation checklist for residential and business customers, an interactive map outlining potential public safety power shutoff areas and the 2024 Wildfire Mitigation Plan.

Idaho Power customers can visit idahopower.com/wildfire to learn more about summer outage preparedness and what Idaho Power is doing to protect the grid from wildfires.

The PUC and the utility companies are issuing the advisory in recognition of National Wildfire Awareness Month, which kicked off May 1.

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