As summer nears, Pacific Power offers tips to prepare for wildfire season, plans upcoming webinar
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — As weather transitions to summer, Pacific Power is encouraging customers to prepare for wildfire season. Fire-weather conditions, such as severe drought combined with summer windstorms or active wildfires, could lead to safety-related power outages.
“We’re building our system to be more resilient long term – for all seasons and weather conditions – providing value to our customers for decades to come,” said Curtis Mansfield, senior vice president of power and delivery. “We’re investing nearly half a billion dollars across our system in wildfire mitigation strategies over the coming years. This includes round-the-clock reporting of weather conditions; rebuilding portions of the grid with equipment upgrades; and using technology to monitor the system, while increasing inspections and vegetation maintenance on our lines.”
Even as electric providers partner with federal, state and local agencies to plan and get ready for wildfire season, preparedness is a shared responsibility. Helpful information is available to help every customer take steps to plan ahead and be ready for wildfire-related power outages.
Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Webinar
Pacific Power invites you to learn more about its wildfire mitigation plans during a wildfire safety and preparedness webinar on Monday, June 13, from 3-4 p.m. Company representatives will share progress on wildfire safety work, including system hardening, enhanced vegetation management practices and expanded situational awareness. There will be a Questions & Answers session after the presentation. Questions can also be emailed to wildfiresafety@pacificorp.com.
Stay in the know
Customers can take steps to make sure that they receive wildfire-related information.
- Log in to your account and make sure all contact information is current. That way, Pacific Power can send alerts and messages.
- In addition to having a back-up plan with medical providers, customers who rely on electricity to store medication or operate medical equipment at home should enroll in the provider’s Medical Certificate Program to receive proactive communications about outages.
Make an outage kit
- Prepare a home outage kit in the event wildfire leads to a power outage. Be sure to include shelf-stable food, water for household members, pets and any livestock, necessary medications, flashlights, batteries and solar or car chargers for electric devices. Keep ice packs or frozen water in the freezer to help keep food cold until ice is available.
- Businesses should prepare to minimize disruption, keep employees safe and protect equipment. Outage kits should include flashlights or camp lights for all areas, including restrooms, battery-powered or hand-crank radios for information, battery-powered fans, extra batteries, car chargers for cell phones and electric devices, bottled water and emergency phone numbers.
Have a plan
- Consider options to relocate with a friend, family member or shelter, especially if a medical condition, medication or equipment requires electricity.
- Businesses should communicate their outage response plan to key employees, plan for workarounds for computers and cash registers, and create a plan to bypass electronic door locks.
- Homes and businesses should consider buying backup generators and follow manufacturers’ safety guidelines.
- Make a plan for watering livestock if well pumps are without power.
- Know how to open and close electric garage doors and security gates.
- Learn how to protect home and business electronics and appliances against data loss and surge damage when power is restored.
Information, resources and checklists
- Pacific Power customers can visit pacificpower.net/wildfiresafety for resources and information including an outage preparation checklist for residential and business customers, an interactive map outlining potential public safety power shutoff areas and the company’s 2022 Wildfire Protection Plan.
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About Pacific Power
Pacific Power provides electric service to more than 770,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. Our goal is to provide our customers with value for their energy dollar, and safe, reliable electricity. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, with 1.9 million customers in six western states. For more information, visit www.pacificpower.net.
