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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Lipstick on a pig.
Too little too late!!!!
May be late but not too late. Maybe too little but at least something.
🕯🌳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.
Some of these locations seem wildly inaccurate. Bridgeville Farmhouse in Myers Flat? Wilder Ridge Road in Garberville?
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.
Yes.
🕯🌳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.
Wonder how much it cost them for daily sunrise and sunset forecasting…….