Protecting Power Poles and Preventing Fires
Protecting Power Poles and Preventing Fires
Sitting smack in the middle of 13,000 acres of open space, the Santa Clarita Valley is scenic but also susceptible to wildfire.
That’s why, parallel to the 5 freeway, just out of sight from drivers, Southern California Edison’s Structure Brushing program is underway in Valencia.
Vegetation Management crews clear brush and debris from around 200,000 structures each year.
With a saw, clippers and raking tools in hand, one of the 150 contractor crews that help SCE clear brush and debris from around select structures were doing just that — beating back the bushes to help reduce the risk of wildfire.
“We’re out here every day, year-round, working to clear a 10-foot radius around certain transmission towers and distribution poles,” said Patrick Birkimer, SCE senior advisor of Vegetation Management. “In the event of potential equipment failure, this buffer zone is meant to protect our communities by preventing our equipment from becoming the source of ignition.”
Santa Clarita is just one of the high fire risk locations the program focuses on, clearing approximately 15,000 structures a year in that city alone. The program as a whole clears around 200,000 pieces of equipment annually throughout SCE’s 50,000-square-mile service area.
Each project varies in size and number of crew members, ranging from a single maintenance worker to a four-person crew. In Valencia, the vegetation specialist started by trimming back the overgrown tree branches from surrounding saplings.
A Vegetation Management crew member cuts back overgrown brush from around a power pole.
Next, he used his saw to carve out a spiky succulent growing toward the nearby distribution pole.
Lastly, he used hand tools, like rakes and hoes, to make sure the 10-foot buffer zone is free from sprouting weeds and debris at the base of the equipment.
“This brush clearance work is something SCE does for public safety, and also for reliability,” Birkimer said. “The better we can protect this equipment from the threat of wildfire, the better we can make sure our customers won’t have disruptions to their power from damaged poles.”
SCE’s Structure Brushing is just one part of Vegetation Management’s wildfire safety work. Crews also inspect approximately 1.6 million trees across the service area annually.
“I live and work in SCE’s service area, so I have a personal investment in keeping these communities safe,” Birkimer said. “I go to work every day, knowing that we are doing the best we can to reduce the risk of wildfires.”
For more information on SCE’s wildfire mitigation efforts, visit sce.com/wildfiresafety.