PG&E Helicopter Will Be Patrolling Lines in Humboldt

helicopter

[Image by Jetijones]

“Starting today, Thursday, PG&E will be using a helicopter to patrol electric lines in Northern Humboldt County as part of vegetation and safety work,” Deanna Contreras, spokesperson for PG&E explained.

She added, “On Wednesdays or Thursdays over the next few weeks, a Bell 206L3 Long Ranger will leave the Ukiah Municipal Airport around 8:00 am and fly through 4:00 pm.”

Contreras noted, “Foresters will be flying low, but still within FAA guidelines when it comes to utility work near PG&E facilities, in order to look for vegetation near electric lines in high fire-threat areas in the following areas: Bridgeville, Willow Creek, Hoopa.”

Further information can be found below.

Press release from PG&E:

In response to the recent and dramatically increasing wildfire threat in our state, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is accelerating its vegetation management work in Bridgeville, Willow Creek and Hoopa to further reduce the risk of wildfire and keep our customers, their families and our communities safe.

According to CAL FIRE and the National Interagency Fire Center, in 2018, as of late August, more than 5,500 wildfires have already burned over 1.4 million acres.

The unprecedented, destructive nature of the wildfire risk that California faces this year demands additional steps to further mitigate wildfire threats and keep our customers safe. As a result, we are augmenting our Community Wildfire Safety Program (CWSP) to accelerate our vegetation and safety work and reduce the risk of vegetation coming into contact with power lines.

This wildfire safety work involves creating even greater clearances between trees and power lines, including overhanging branches and limbs, in areas the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has designated as at extreme risk of wildfire.

PG&E was already working to meet new state vegetation and fire safety standards, which require a minimum clearance of 4 feet around power lines in high fire-threat areas with clearances of 12 feet or more at time of trim to ensure compliance year-round.

Our accelerated wildfire vegetation management work addresses overhanging branches or limbs, which have the potential to come into contact with power lines, by ensuring conductor-to-sky 12-foot clearance.

We are also continuing to partner with customers in extreme fire-threat areas to create fire defense zones by reducing vegetation below and near power lines that could act as fuel in a wildfire, as an added layer of protection and to enhance defensible space.

The expectation this work to take place between now and the end of the 2018 wildfire season. Customers can call 877.295.4949 for more information or email [email protected]

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Dan
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Dan
5 years ago

Jade Helm!

just sayin
Guest
just sayin
5 years ago

If the tree service guys would cut more back at a time, we wouldn’t have these issues. PG&E employees in our neighborhood has said that we have “rainbow trees”, as in they have been sprayed with paint so many times for removal, and each year is a different color that they have all the colors of the rainbow. Meanwhile the tree service company will come in and trim part of one branch, take a nap up the hill and call it a day. They jokingly say it is job security because they keep getting called back out to do the work.

Guest 2
Guest
Guest 2
5 years ago

Pg&e thinks that everyone will think pg&e is actually doing something to protect us from the fires that they are obviously responsible for by flying a helicopter around so everyone can hear and see the helicopter . Don’t fall for there act and show they are putting on . It’s a cheap way to advertise and pretend that actions are being taken to prevent fires . Because they don’t want to spend the money to update an outdated electrical grid system . Remember it’s a corporation that is legally binded to spend the least and make the most profit. Utilities , medical and pharmaceuticals should not be private but provided by the government at cost . Anything else is monopolized corruption.

antichrist
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antichrist
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest 2

hrmm me thinks medicial should be a open free market, but if we are going to force people to buy health insurance perphaps it would be best if we mandated that all hralth insurance companies be not for profit. that way we encourage leading cutting edge treatments and medicines but still keep prices in check and practices avaible.

antichrist
Guest
antichrist
5 years ago

well lets hope they follow faa rules….. one of those didnt today and knocked down a couple lines starting a fire down south