Low humidity, high heat and is pointing to a high-risk fire season. Idaho Power is helping residents prepare for potential outages and revving up efforts to prevent their systems from causing wildfires.
A mild winter has set stage for a very dry summer.
“Talking to our weather folks and the National Weather Service this year is a little concerning,” said Idaho Power Customer Manager Matt Stucki.
He said the company is monitoring high-risk areas for certain conditions, like high winds and dry vegetation.
“Because [of] those conditions, it's more likely that our system could cause some kind of ignition,” he said. “So when those conditions are right, we will then de-energize those lines.”
“The risk areas are those urban-wildland interface, where there's lots of fuel right on the border of cities and forests, where we have lots of structures,” Stucki added.
For the next four weeks, Idaho Power will be hosting public sessions across the state to prepare users for potential outages and go over the company’s wildfire mitigation efforts, including investing in self-contained fuses and emergency power shut-offs.
The first of six virtual info sessions is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 and will focus on the southern and eastern Idaho regions.
Find more information on the Idaho Power sessions here.
