Mitigating the damage caused by wildfires is vital to maintaining a functional utility infrastructure. Nowhere is that more evident than in California, which has seen a consistent increase in destructive wildfire incidents over the last three decades. That’s why Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has been dedicated to hardening their powerlines since 2021, and plans to continue the practice in California’s most at-risk areas to eventually bury some 1,600 miles of lines by 2026.
What is the Wildfire Risk in California?
The top 20 most destructive California wildfires as catalogued by CAL FIRE in March of 2024 show that just two fires – the rekindling of the Oakland Hills Tunnel fire in Alameda County and The Jones fire in Shasta County – occurred prior to 2020 (in 1991 and 1999, respectively). Among the remaining 18 most destructive blazes in the list, there were two in 2003, one in 2007, two in 2015, three in 2017, three in 2018, five in 2020, and one in 2021, and those are just among the most destructive.
In the period from 2017 to 2021 experts estimate that the state lost $117.4 billion in revenue due to wildfire destruction and the response required to mitigate those fires.
On average, Californians see 1.28 million acres of land consumed by 7,239 wildfires annually, and CAL FIRE reports they’ve already responded to 7,668 wildfires in 2024 alone.
By comparison, the state of Washington experiences about 900 wildland fires annually, consuming approximately 429,000 acres each year. So, it is easy to see why utility providers like PG&E are taking steps to protect the vital utility infrastructure of the nation’s largest state, and the world’s eighth largest economy.
What is PG&E’s Utility Hardening Plan?
PG&E’s Vice President of Undergrounding and System Hardening Matt Pender told Underground Infrastructure that, “Undergrounding powerlines is a key layer of protection in our strategy to reduce wildfire risk and improve reliability for our customers. Reaching this milestone [of 800 miles hardened] is a testament to our commitment to our hometowns and our continued focus on delivering safe and reliable electricity.”
The utility giant that serves 16 million customers in northern and central California is focusing its utility hardening efforts in Spring Valley in Lake County, Vacaville in Solano County, and Pine Grove in Amador County. So far in 2024, they’ve buried more than 187 miles of lines, with a goal of 250 miles total by the end of the year. The announcement of hitting the 800-mile mark for undergrounding celebrates that PG&E has hit the halfway point of its wildfire utility risk mitigation work. The end goal is to bury 1,600 miles of powerlines by the end of 2026.
What is Utility Hardening?
Utility hardening, also sometimes called grid hardening is the practice of undergrounding or burying utility lines to protect them from the weather, fires, and other threats. By burying utilities underground, it protects individual lines and the power grid as a whole from unnecessary risk. Spikes in both extreme weather events and wildfires are leading more communities to embrace utility hardening as a standard practice. Several Miami-Dade, Florida neighborhoods recently announced they would be undergrounding their utilities to combat hurricane and flooding risks.
Not only does undergrounding utilities safeguard against outages, it creates a more peaceful and unobstructed landscape, and has long been the practice in areas like Denver, Colorado and others.
With the practice gaining popularity nationwide, it becomes essential for municipal, utility, and facility managers to have accurate, up-to-date subsurface utility maps to ensure service continuity when installing new lines, excavating, or utilizing trenchless technology to lay fiber optic telecommunication infrastructure.
Utility hardening is not the only risk mitigation strategy PG&E is taking to protect utilities, however. Their other utility infrastructure safety measures include:
• Strengthening their infrastructure in high-risk fire areas
• Utilizing Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) to reduce reportable ignitions by 72%
• Managing vegetation growth near aboveground utility lines
• Tracking weather conditions via 1,500 weather stations and 600 HD cameras
• Employing drones and AI technologies to aid in fire detection
GPRS is the nation’s largest company offering above and below-ground existing conditions documentation. We Intelligently Visualize The Built World® for companies in all 50 states. What can we help you visualize?
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does GPRS Map Underground Utilities and Are They Accurate?
GPRS employs advanced technologies such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electromagnetic (EM) locating to map underground utilities. These methods enable the detection and mapping of subsurface utilities with high accuracy, consistently maintaining 99.8% accurate results for clients.
How Can I Get an Accurate Map of My Subsurface Utilities?
To obtain an accurate map of your subsurface utilities, you need to hire a utility locating company near you, like GPRS. However, most utility locating companies do not provide a map of your utility infrastructure. GPRS’ national team of Project Managers can assess your site and provide detailed mapping of underground utilities, facilitating safe and efficient project planning. Our findings are digitized, geolocated using GPS and RTK technology, and delivered via SiteMap®. Every GPRS customer receives a complimentary SiteMap® Personal Subscription.
Does GPRS Do 811 Locates?
GPRS offers private utility locating services, and does locate both public and private utility lines. However, GPRS is not a substitute for the 811 One Call system. 811 is a federally mandated service that you are required to call before digging to locate public utilities. GPRS identifies and maps both public and private utilities for architects, engineers, commercial construction, and related industries, providing comprehensive subsurface utility mapping beyond the scope of 811 services.
