Meteorologists with Pacific Power are anticipating a warmer and drier summer than normal — a combination that raises the risk of wildfires, especially east of the Cascades.
Last summer, residents in Talent were frustrated by more than 40 power outages, a number that was reported to be even higher by some residents.
Special settings made the electrical grid more sensitive, so even small issues, like a tree branch falling, triggered an outage. Other causes included birds hitting power lines and lightning strikes.
Instead of turning back on instantly, crews have to patrol all of the power lines to ensure that it's clear before turning the power on manually.
Pacific Power Spokesperson Simon Gutierrez said they’ve made significant upgrades to the system.
“Our engineers came in and looked at what the situation was, and looked for areas that we could make improvements through some infrastructure upgrades," he said. "And we did that. We feel confident that this year we'll have a better situation in that area.”
The company installed a large number of detectors along the line to help pinpoint where a fault occurs.
The utility is also investing in other upgrades to help prevent its power lines from causing wildfires. One example is replacing power lines with so-called “covered conductors.”
“That's insulated plastic around a regular conductor, and that insulation provides a buffer," Gutierrez said. "So if you have contact, it's much less likely to emit a spark.”
Hundreds of miles of power lines are set to be upgraded in the area around Mt. Shasta, Cave Junction and Grants Pass.
Still, Gutierrez said residents should be prepared for power outages during wildfire season. When the power company has to shut off the grid because of dangerous weather conditions, he said they try to warn customers at least 48 hours in advance. But sometimes the power can turn off unexpectedly, like what happened in Talent.
The utility is hosting two public forums to discuss their wildfire mitigation practices at the Josephine County Fairgrounds on Wednesday night and at the Riverhouse Lodge in Bend on Thursday night. Both meetings are available to watch online, and recordings from previous forums are also available on their website.
