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It’s #WildfirePreparednessWeek in California. We are committed to keeping our communities safe, and that includes having a team of fire scientists to help mitigate wildfire risk. Tom Rolinski, with nearly 30 years of experience, explains how he has built SCE’s fire science program, including modeling fire behavior, producing seasonal outlooks and advising on strategic mitigation efforts. Once the team identifies areas of concern, SCE will take that information and increase its wildfire mitigation and vegetation management efforts around those locations in high fire risk areas.   “We are continually incorporating more advanced fuels information in a comprehensive way to determine fire potential,” Rolinski said. “When we think about the behavior of fires, we look at things like flame length and fire intensity. Those kinds of aspects of how a fire burns are important because that determines the size, how suppressible it will be and what kind of impact it might have on a community.” Learn more: https://lnkd.in/giPvTUxs

Public Utilities' Wildfire Mitigation Efforts - II    Public utilities have been increasing their wildfire mitigation efforts, and it shows.    In the recent past, some wildfires were caused by lax maintenance or aging equipment that sparked electricity onto fuel such as trees, grasses, and brush.    Today, many utilities, particularly in the western states, have made significant efforts to reduce the amount of available fuel near power lines.    The first step in wildfire mitigation is to understand what opportunities exist to reduce the proximity of fuel to power lines along with other wildfire mitigation initiatives.    Our role in helping to mitigate wildfires. At Clear Path Utility Solutions, we are the experienced maestros that integrate and orchestrate seamlessly with our utility partners and the vegetation clearing crews to ensure projects are completed according to specifications, on-time and safely. Our teams look at satellite images, drone images, and put eyes on rights-of-ways (ROW's) and power lines to offer an expert review of how the ROWs can be cleared to significantly reduce the possibility of igniting a wildfire.    Using the information we provide; many Western state utilities have begun robust fuel elimination projects.    It is important for the public to understand the scale of what that means.    Many of these power lines go over the tops of mountains or through mountain gaps that are thousands of feet high. In many cases, these are areas where even mountain goats would struggle to climb.    When the power lines and towers are installed, they're installed via helicopter and with massive teams.    The fuel mitigation needed requires that someone be on the ground trimming trees, cutting grasses, and removing brush. At Clear Path Utility Solutions, we orchestrate fluid execution between our utility clients and the vegetation clearing crews to minimize risks, optimize assets and maximize project outcomes.      It is truly a Herculean effort to eliminate this abundance of fuel that exists. Yet the utilities have been working hard at it over the last few years, with visible success as we see wildfire seasons, while still massive and significant, being less frequently caused by powerline sparking.    The job isn't done. In fact, because the fuel grows every year, the job will never be done. But the companies in question have been working diligently to reduce the likelihood of a power line-sparked wildfire.    #WildfireMitigation #PublicUtilities #RiskManagement #ClimateChange #Infrastructure 

Wildfire Risk data is designed to assess the real-world exposure of critical infrastructure and property to wildfire impacts. Drawing on a large variety of data sets, both inside and outside the public domain, Wildfire Risk paints a picture of wildfire exposure.

Last week, the Senate confirmed me for another 4 year term on the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. I’m gratified for the support and I’m grateful to Governor Gavin Newsom for the trust he showed in re-appointing me. California has a great Flood Plan, but we aren’t implementing it aggressively enough. In 2023, a long series of atmospheric rivers brought heavy precipitation to the state. It refilled Tulare Lake, and in the Southern Sierra, 2023 was among the top years in recorded history for total precipitation and total runoff. A few times the state had as much sustained precipitation over 7 or 21 days as ever. But we got lucky. The precipitation fell heavily as snow, the snow melted slowly, and the onslaught of atmospheric rivers was interrupted by a very dry February. Peak flows for the San Joaquin River as it ran into the Delta only rose to about 34,000 cfs. For comparison, the climate change modeling for the Flood Plan estimated that peak flows in a hotter, wetter future could be more than 10x that - as much as 375,000 cfs. In other words, we have work to do. My first priority as a board member is to implement the Flood Plan more aggressively, and not to take “nos” and “not yets” as an answer. (The photo is me, Karla Nemeth, Eric Oppenheimer, and Kristin Peer at a conference discussing “weather whiplash” - the present and future of the Western United States, with long, extended, hot and dry periods punctuated by catastrophic floods.)

"There’s no question that there’s been a significant long-term trend of higher temperatures and drier air over California, particularly since 1980...We’re on a journey toward more and more days that are going to be prone to these kinds of fire events here in Southern California.” Fast moving, wind-driven fires will unfortunately be part of the future of living in the West. How we choose to live alongside those fires is up to us. This is a great article summarizing how fuel loads, topography, and weather come together to drive wildfire behavior in the WUI. At XyloPlan, we use the most up-to-date data available to identify the Fire Pathways that bring a fast, wind-driven fire to a community.  We also go one step further and provide communities with the agency to affect that risk by creating optimized treatment plans to slow the advance of that fire that allows for an orderly evacuation and the arrival of fire fighting resources. https://lnkd.in/gqpDkG9K

As wildfires become more frequent and destructive, structural firefighters must be equipped with the knowledge and strategies to handle these unique challenges. The transition from urban firefighting to wildfire suppression requires a shift in mindset and tactics. Understanding fire behavior in wildland environments, utilizing protective measures, and coordinating with local agencies are critical to ensuring safety and effectiveness on the front lines. It's essential to adapt and prepare for this evolving threat. #WildfireSuppression #FireSafety #StructuralFirefighting #EmergencyPreparedness #FirefighterTraining #WildlandFirefighting #FireProtection #CommunityResilience

Tarsands Trials & Tribulations in Alberta⚠️⛔️⚠️ CBC News - Thandiwe Konguavi: Firefighters battle out-of-control wildfire near Edson, Alberta after natural gas line rupture. TC Energy says the affected section of the pipeline has been isolated & shut down. A natural gas pipeline rupture Tuesday morning in west-central Alberta has sparked an out-of-control wildfire. TC Energy activated its emergency response procedures after it was notified about the incident, involving its Nova Gas Transmission Line, located 40 kilometres northwest of Edson, Alta., at about 11 a.m., the company said in a statement. Edson is about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton and about 160 km northeast of the B.C.-Alberta border. "The pipeline incident did create a wildfire and so Alberta Wildfire, Yellowhead County and TC Energy are currently responding to the wildfire," said Caroline Charbonneau, Alberta Wildfire information officer for the Edson forest area. Charbonneau said the fire is considered to be out of control and is estimated to cover about 10 hectares. She said conditions are dry but firefighters are making good progress and currently there are no communities threatened by the fire. Yellowhead County said in a statement that it "worked with the gas company to shut the pipeline in. There is no more leaking gas." The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the county said. Alberta's wildfire season has begun. Here's how its 500 new firefighters are preparing for it TC Energy said the affected 4.5-kilometre section of the pipeline has been isolated and shut down. "There are no reported injuries. Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of responding personnel, surrounding communities and mitigating risk to the environment," the company said in a statement on its website.   Alberta Wildfire is working with Yellowhead County and the company to fight the wildfire. The response includes eight pieces of heavy equipment, 12 wildland firefighters, air tankers and helicopters. No injuries have been reported. The Nova Gas Transmission Line network spans 24,494 kilometres, according to the TC Energy website. It connects natural gas production in B.C. and Alberta to domestic and export markets. In April 2022, a natural gas leak from the pipeline in northwestern Alberta caught fire and was investigated by the Transportation Safety Board. The TSB released its investigation report into that incident in January, finding that the pipeline rupture was due to external corrosion.

Useful Wildfire Plans (regardless of name) start with good data. At Athena, we often say, "It is not a map, it is a data pool." This article describes Athena's "maps", how they are made and why they are better than the more widely used #WHP from the US Forestry Service. Here is the bottom line - graphical representations of data are powerful tools in conveying information. Our "maps" convey useful information, based on tremendous complexity, which a simple PDF or flat map cannot convey.

Every month the California Resiliency Alliance shares with subscribers a summary excerpts from the seasonal wildfire outlooks compiled by the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Services. Here is a quick highlight from the National Report. Northern California's significant fire potential is projected to be below normal for June and July with the exceptions of the Sacramento Valley and Foothills, Northeast California, and Far Eastside Predictive Service Areas (PSAs) where normal is designated. August and September are projected as normal for all PSAs. Southern California's significant fire potential is projected to likely be below for the coast and the Sierra Nevada in June. For July, below normal significant fire potential is likely to continue for the coast and Sierra as the marine layer season is likely to extend into July. Normal significant fire potential is likely area-wide in August. For September, above normal large fire potential is possible along the coast, the southern California mountains, and Sierra Foothills. You can read the full report at https://lnkd.in/g5TRk5y7 #Wildfires

There are so many acronyms - WMP (Wildfire Mitigation Plan), WHP (Wildfire Hazard Potential), CWPP (Community Wildfire Protection Plan), IWFMP (Integrated Wildland Fire Management Plan), Wildfire City Emergency Plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan, Disaster Response Plan But they should all start with good data - What Athena calls a Wildfire Risk Assessment Report. Ignition events can happen anywhere and an estimated 90% of all wildfires cover 3 acres and destroy the closest homes before the first fire engine arrives. What every community, government agency, military base, power company and disaster planner wants to know is: 1) Where are the locations where a small fire will become a mega wildfire? 2) What can we do to reduce the risk? 3) If a megafire starts, where is the safest place for people to go? Those are the questions Athena has the answer to ... Please add Elizabeth@Project-Athena.com to your RFP list. #wildfire #wildfireprevention #disastermanagement #CWPP #firechief #fireprevention #wildfires #wui #giscommunity #geospatialintelligence