1. Program detail

Idaho Power Co. say they will shut off electricity in some parts of its service area whenever wind storms or other extreme weather increase the risk of wildfire.

The Boise-based utility’s new public safety power shutoff program aims to protect customers, communities, employees and equipment in nine high-risk zones.

In extreme weather or during wildfires, electrical lines and transformers can cause or worsen wildfires. The fires can damage power infrastructure and equipment in addition to putting people and communities at risk.

“We are seeing utilities across the West implement public safety power shutoff programs,” said Jon Axtman, Idaho Power’s senior manager of transmission, distribution, engineering and reliability.

“It really gives us the ability to be prepared when we have extreme weather conditions,” he said.

A combination of high wind and temperatures  and low humidity could prompt a shutoff, which would last for the duration of the extreme weather. Afterward, the company will patrol for damage and makes repairs.

Vegetation type, weather history and structural density were among factors considered in identifying the high-risk zones. They are inspected intensively and subject to special equipment and operational practices, like trimming trees and wrapping power poles in fire-resistant mesh.

Wilderness Ranch, a development northeast of Boise, is one of the risk zones. The company notified residents that it could shut off power when conditions warrant.

“Given what’s been going on with drought and fires in the West, the communication from Idaho Power was not a huge surprise,” said Therese Borgerding, Firewise program coordinator with the Wilderness Ranch Homeowners Association. “I understand where they are coming from on that.”

The risk zones have about 5,000 customers combined, less than 1% of the utility’s total customer base. Idaho Power urges these customers to update contact information, sign up for outage alerts, and make plans to meet medical and other day-to-day needs when power is off.

The company can help customers prepare by providing guidance on backup power, for example. During an outage, it can work with public safety partners.

Axtman said a shutoff could be called based on in-house meteorologists’ daily forecast models. Their fire-potential index was developed with input from the National Interagency Fire Center and land management agencies. The company also conducts ground and aerial inspections, and uses infrared cameras to find equipment that may be overheating.

Customers will be given 1 to 4 days advance notice, and local emergency responders are notified.

“And if there is a forecast of these conditions that warrants a public safety power shutoff, we start planning for it days in advance,” said Axtman, who leads the company’s fire mitigation program.

A shutoff is a last resort to prevent wildfire and is “a decision we don’t take lightly because we know how important power is to our customers and their daily lives,” he said.

State Department of Lands firefighters often work on wildfires that start or spread close to communities.

“It’s so new that we will have to see how it develops,” department Public Information Officer Sharla Arledge said of Idaho Power’s program.

When fighting a fire in the wildland-urban interface, “live, downed power lines pose a danger for firefighters,” she said. “Not having electricity flowing through downed lines during a major event could reduce one hazard for our IDL fire crews.”