A Growing Challenge
Wildfire may be the greatest challenge facing the Western United States, especially for electric utilities in Oregon.
Serving High-Risk Areas
Oregon’s electric cooperatives serve high fire-risk areas in frontier and low-population parts of the state.
Investing in Wildfire Mitigation
Electric cooperatives have never invested more than they do today. Employee and community safety are every electric cooperative’s top priority – especially when determining how best to invest co-op resources into wildfire mitigation.
Oregon’s electric cooperatives have never invested more in wildfire mitigation, but the threats continue to escalate. Each service territory has unique risks and requires its own mitigation strategies.
These investments may include:
Dramatic increases to vegetation management budgets
Some co-ops hire employees who work specifically on wildfire-related programs and are training others to operate cutting edge technology that will help as we seek to detect and mitigate potential risks. Other co-ops train employees in fire suppression and buy apparatus to support that work.
Investing in cutting edge software and technology like drones to inspect lines and weather stations to monitor real-time conditions around our systems
Donations and partnerships with local rural fire protection districts to support their efforts to suppress fires when they do start
Coordination with emergency managers
Provide downed powerline and other safety training to first responders
Public education and information campaigns
This weather station allows an electric cooperative to better understand the weather conditions in their high fire risk territory, helping with decision making around whether to de-energize the lines to avoid sparking a wildfire.
Factors that contribute to wildfire growth and ignitions but that are outside of the control of electric cooperatives:
A changing climate and more frequent, extreme droughts
Fire suppression tactics and response times
Forest management practices
Where people build their homes
While your co-op is working to reduce wildfire risk and help keep you safe, there are steps you can take to protect your home and property. Learn how to reduce your own wildfire risk by visiting the resources below.
