Preventing Grid-Caused Wildfires
California saw more than one million acres burned due to wildfires in just 8 months in 2021
California’s wildfires in 2018 cost the U.S. economy over $148 billion.
The carbon emissions form California wildfires in 2019 were about 25% the total from all fossil fuel consumption in the state.
It can take up to 65 years for a full recovery to ecosystems after wildfires.
Current Problem
Wildfires are a serious and growing problem with power utility companies. In recent years, the state of California has witnessed immense devastation from wildfires caused by malfunctioning power lines and utility equipment. These utility malfunctions started fires that led to many people losing their lives, homes, neighborhoods and entire towns while destroying countless acres of wildlands. These fires also eliminate the natural carbon sink capacity from the many trees on forested land and cost billions of dollars in economic damage.
Climate change is creating hotter and drier environments and the risk of wildfires and the many negative impacts is growing. Prevention of utility-caused wildfires is a critical issue for energy providers and the many lives, wildlands and ecosystems at risk near them.
The focus, pace and commitment of technological advancements has created innovative opportunities to improve grid safety and reduce these risks. But technology is not going to solve all our problems, we still need human hands on the ground to provide support and care for a healthy forest ecosystem.
Emerging Solutions
LOS ANGELES
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has about 14% of its service area under High Fire Threat Area, which is small compared with the rest of the state but still requires the utility pay careful attention to preventing any faulty equipment or aging assets from sparking disaster. To stay on top of that, the utility has spent $3.9 billion in the past five years to rebuild infrastructure that could be the source of sparks towards wildfires, specifically by installing sensors, intelligent equipment, and analyzing that resulting data to identify risk areas before anything may occur.