PG&E Adds More Weather Stations and High-Definition Cameras to Monitor Wildfire Conditions

This is a press release from Pacific Gas and Electric:

As part of its Community Wildfire Safety Program (CWSP), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has now installed more than 600 weather stations and 130 high-definition (HD) cameras across its service area. PG&E will continue to expand these networks in high fire-threat areas to enhance weather forecasting and modeling and improve the company’s ability to predict and respond to extreme wildfire danger.

“The station observations allow our meteorologists to analyze critical fire weather elements like extreme wind, temperature and low humidity,” said Ashley Helmetag, a PG&E senior meteorologist. “The stations and cameras are a part of our real-time situational awareness tools that assist us as we make decisions on Public Safety Power Shutoffs to protect our communities.”

This data is also critical information for PG&E’s analysts in the Wildfire Safety Operations Center, the “hub” from where the company monitors threats across its service territory and coordinates with first responders and public safety officials to respond to emerging threats.

Station observations are available to state and local agencies as well as the public, through online sources such as PG&E’s website, the National Weather Service and MesoWest.

The HD cameras are part of the ALERTWildfire Camera Network, a situational awareness tool built by the University of California San Diego, the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Oregon. The high-definition, pan-tilt-zoom cameras have near-infrared capabilities that allow firefighters, first responders and companies such as PG&E to confirm and monitor wildfires.

More Planned

By 2022, PG&E plans to have installed 1,300 weather stations and 600 HD cameras – a density of one weather station roughly every 20 circuit-miles and video coverage of roughly 90 percent within the highest fire-risk areas.

Meteorology Information at your Fingertips

All of this information can be found at PG&E’s new weather webpage at www.pge.com/weather.

The weather webpage also provides:

  • Seven-day forecast updated daily by a PG&E meteorologist or fire scientist
  • Detailed, localized weather conditions
  • Maps that show whether the National Weather Service has called a Red Flag Warning and where
  • Access to the thousands of weather stations and dozens of HD cameras in use by PG&E
  • Daily sunrise and sunset timetable

For information about fire conditions in California, go to CAL FIRE’s website, www.fire.ca.gov.

For more information about the Community Wildfire Safety Program, including links to update contact information, resources for Public Safety Power Shutoffs and a schedule of upcoming regional open houses and webinars, visit PG&E’s website at www.pge.com/wildfiresafety.

There are now 22 PG&E weather stations in Humboldt County, located on PG&E equipment in the approximate areas according to Deanna Contreras spokesperson for PG&E:

 

Larabee Valley Bridgeville
Wilder Ridge Road Garberville
Upper Bear River Road Rio Dell
Bair Road Willow Creek
Bear Butte Road Miranda
Airport Road Miranda
Humboldt Redwood St. Park Weott
Bald Hill Road Weitchpec
Snow Camp Road Maple Creek
Pratt Mountain Harris
Mt. Pierce Lookout Rio Dell
Barry Road Kneeland
Monument Road Rio Dell
Blocksburg Blocksburg
Bridgeville Farmhouse Myers Flat
Alder Point Road Bridgeville
Briceland Thorn Road Redway
Satterlee Garberville
Heidi Lane Weott
Kneeland Road Bridgeville
Jager Junction Bridgeville
Truck Road McKinleyville

She says there are 4 high-definition cameras installed in Humboldt County (you can see them at www.alertwildfire.org)

Bald Jesse Rio Dell
Barry Ridge (Kneeland) Lagunitas
Mail Ridge (Satterlee) Phillipsville
Patton Hill Phillipsville

These are the proximate locations of new PG&E weather monitoring equipment in Mendocino County:

Potter Valley Calpella
Pine Mountain Cloverdale
Bald Mountain Hopland
Redwood Valley Redwood Valley
Oak Knoll Road Ukiah
Sherwood Road Willits
Reynolds Highway Willits
Orr Springs Road Ukiah
Blackhawk Drive Willits
Pieta Hopland
Blackhawk West Willits
Cloverdale Peak Cloverdale
Black Bart Trail Calpella
Laughlin Mountain Redwood Valley
Green Road Alternate Philo
Mountain View Road Boonville
Highway 128 Mendocino Hendy Grove
Highway 101 Hilltop Cloverdale
Poonkinney Road Covelo
Underwood Lane Leggett
Laytonville North Laytonville
T-Line 70KV Willits
Greenwood Roast West Elk
Mathison Peak Melbourne
Ten Mile Cutoff Road Gallaway
Signal Peak Potter Valley
Mendocino Pass ALT Covelo
Mountain View Road Manchester

There are 5 high-definition cameras installed in Mendocino County (you can see them at www.alertwildfire.org)

Cleland Mountain 1 Mendocino Ukiah
Cleland Mountain 2 Mendocino Ukiah
Mt. Sanel 1 Mendocino Hopland
Mt. Sanel 2 Mendocino Hopland
Redwood Valley Mendocino Redwood Valley

There are four high-definition cameras installed in Humboldt County (you can see them at www.alertwildfire.org)

Bald Jesse Rio Dell
Barry Ridge (Kneeland) Lagunitas
Mail Ridge (Satterlee) Phillipsville
Patton Hill Phillipsville
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DivideByZero
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DivideByZero
4 years ago

Lipstick on a pig.

Dan F
Guest
Dan F
4 years ago
Reply to  DivideByZero

Too little too late!!!!

Guest
Guest
Guest
4 years ago
Reply to  Dan F

May be late but not too late. Maybe too little but at least something.

Willie Caos-mayham
Guest
4 years ago
Reply to  Guest

🕯🌳I agree. At least there trying, and doing more than just bitching and whining. They paid there dues in a lawsuit now there trying to repair what mother nature destroys.

onlooker
Guest
onlooker
4 years ago

Some of these locations seem wildly inaccurate. Bridgeville Farmhouse in Myers Flat? Wilder Ridge Road in Garberville?

onlooker
Guest
onlooker
4 years ago

Some of these locations seem wildly inaccurate. Bridgeville Farmhouse in Myers Flat? Wilder Ridge Road in Garberville?

And while I can see some value to doing this, it seems that replacing outdated, dangerously worn, and broken equipment that should have been replaced across all those miles of transmission lines would be a higher priority.

Guest
Guest
Guest
4 years ago
Reply to  onlooker

Yes.

Willie Caos-mayham
Guest
4 years ago

🕯🌳I agree. At least there trying, and doing more than just bitching and whining. They paid there dues in a lawsuit now there trying to repair before mother nature destroys again.

Pinkasso
Guest
Pinkasso
4 years ago

Wonder how much it cost them for daily sunrise and sunset forecasting…….