LAKE WENATCHEE — Chelan PUD has been working hard to reduce fire risk and ensure safe, reliable electricity, especially around Lake Wenatchee and Plain. As your publicly owned utility, we’re sharing an important update on those efforts.

Over the years, we’ve built a comprehensive wildfire mitigation plan and it continues to evolve. Here are some highlights:

  • More frequent inspections and pruning of trees and shrubs threatening power lines
  • Increasing the sensitivity of our fault detection system during fire season
  • Undergrounding overhead power lines where feasible
  • Fire safety outage management

Vegetation Management

Chelan PUD hires contract tree crews to prune trees or cut down trees that are dead, diseased and threatening utility lines. This work benefits the community in two ways:

  • Improves service reliability by preventing trees from growing or falling into powerlines. Heavy snow, ice or wind can break tree limbs and/or uproot trees, which can result in unplanned power outages.
  • It reduces the risk of fire starts from trees in contact with utility equipment. In certain conditions, a spark could ignite dry and dead brush under the utility lines and threaten public safety.

In 2020, Chelan PUD adopted an increased vegetation management standard that calls for more-frequent inspections and shortened pruning cycles, especially in areas prone to fire. For 2022, we plan to inspect about 800 miles of transmission and distribution lines, and prune or remove about 10,000 trees.

The crews accomplish this work in a variety of ways, including electric and hydraulic saws designed to cut without throwing sparks. In other situations, slashbuster mowers are utilized to mow woody materials under the utility lines. Any work near high-voltage utility lines requires special training and licensing.

Some shrubs and trees we encounter grow naturally, but sometimes they’re planted. To learn more about powerline-friendly landscaping options, check out our Right Tree, Right Place planting guide at http://www.chelanpud.org/plantguide

If you have concerns about a tree on your property that’s near a utility line, contact Vegetation Management at (509) 661-4508.

Operational changes

If you notice your power flicker or if you experience a brief outage this summer, it’s probably because we’ve increased the sensitivity of our fault detection system during fire season. This system will tell us if there’s a potential issue we need to investigate, such as a branch or animal contact. We will restore power after service personnel inspects the problem and gives the all-clear.

This operational change is intended to reduce the risk of fire starts. Last summer, some customers noticed more frequent power outages as a result of these changes. This summer, our goal is fewer outages, and a smaller footprint when outages occur.

To accomplish that goal, Chelan PUD is investing in several equipment upgrades, including:

  • More fault indicators: These amber-colored lights help our crews find problems along overhead lines during their patrols.
  • Animal guards: Protects animals from contacting live electrical lines and equipment.
  • Setting changes by remote control: This change will allow Chelan PUD to increase the sensitivity of the system only when weather conditions warrant it, such as red-flag warning days.

Undergrounding lines

Chelan PUD is planning one of its largest overhead-to-underground conversion projects in recent memory along River Road next year.

When we evaluate potential undergrounding projects, we assess several factors: Constructability, access, easements, cost, fire risk, density, and more. It’s a complicated and expensive undertaking, about $1 million a mile.

Staff met with River Road residents in June to discuss converting about 1.7 miles of overhead utility lines underground, from the train tracks to the end of the pavement. Overall, customers were largely supportive.

As for next steps, staff will continue to develop the project design and secure the necessary easements and permitting. The project is slated to bid by the end of 2022, with construction scheduled for mid-2023. To learn more, visit chelanpud.org/riverroad.

Fire safety outage management

A fire safety outage is a proactive power outage designed to prevent catastrophic wildfire ignitions from utility equipment. We hope we never have to use it, but if we do, it’s an occasion when the threat to public safety is greater than the impacts of losing power.

We’re constantly watching the weather forecasts using data from the National Weather Service, state Department of Natural Resources and other weather-monitoring services. We’re tracking several factors, including predicted wind gusts, humidity, fuel moisture and potential fire behavior.

Last year, we heard questions about how often we expect to see the kinds of conditions that may prompt a fire safety outage. According to a 7-year analysis of local weather data, there was only one date when conditions met that threshold – July 14, 2014 – the night that the Carlton Complex fire made its big run toward Pateros. That said, historical weather patterns are changing, which means it’s hard to predict how often these conditions may occur in the future.

If we must use a fire safety outage, we will notify our customer-owners as soon as possible, typically 48 hours in advance.

Here’s what you can do to prepare: