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Sophia Aldous
NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District (PUD) are not firefighters. That may sound obvious, but there was some clarification needed at a public forum on wildfire prevention, hosted by the PUD Thursday, May 14 at Newport High School.
An audience member asked about communications between fire districts, especially as they pertained to the Oregon Road Fire in 2023 where fire districts from Pend Oreille and Spokane counties were fighting the inferno that straddled county lines. When it was contained, the fire had burned more than 10,800 acres and destroyed 710 structures, including 366 primary residences, according to the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
“I don’t mean to dismiss your concern, but I can’t answer that question because we are not firefighters,” PUD General Manager Chris Jones said. “I can’t speak for local fire districts. What I can say is that we are responsible for how the PUD responds to emergency situations and how we communicate that to the public.”
Last Thursday’s event gave participants a brief history of the PUD, followed by a presentation on wildfire prevention and the PUD’s role in those emergencies.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time, a lot of effort, and some money to really put the PUD ahead of the game as far as wildfire management goes,” said Michael Schleich, PUD Engineering and Operations Director. “It seems like you can’t open the newspaper, turn on the TV or go on the internet during the summer and not see some place in the United States that isn’t having wildfire problems. And we can’t say that we’re never going to have another wildfire issue, but what we do want to explain is all the effort that we’re putting into the district to help prevent us from having to suffer from some of the wildfire consequences you’ve seen others have to deal with.”
According to Schleich, the PUD utilizes a seasonal “Fire-Safe Mode” to lessen wildfire risks caused by electrical systems. During high fire-danger periods, the utility disables automatic line re-energization, meaning if an issue occurs, the power stays off to prevent sparks. Usually, standard electrical breakers try to automatically re-energize a line up to three times after a trip. This won’t happen in Fire-Safe Mode.
“Depending on the weather, particularly if there are high winds and a high chance of fire danger, Fire-Safe Mode doesn’t make that attempt to automatically turn the power back on,” Schleich said. “This means there could be more outages, but it substantially lowers the possibility of sparks that could start a wildfire in dry conditions.”
The outages may be longer and more frequent when the system is in fire-safe mode, with PUD line crews inspecting a line and confirming it is safe before restoring power.
Joe Hathaway, Public Information Officer for the PUD, said Fire-Safe Mode has been implemented in the district seasonally for several years. The PUD is responsible for maintaining what equates to more than 1,400 miles of electrical lines, so clearing trees and vegetation near electrical infrastructure is also part of the PUD’s wildfire season preparation.
When asked by an audience member if the customers should call the PUD if there is a fire or power outage, Jones said absolutely for the latter, but 9-1-1 if it is an emergency like a downed power line or fire.
“Please, if you’re experiencing a power outage, we definitely want you to call us, because that helps us pinpoint the problem so our crews can get to work with checking for safety and restoring power,” Jones said. “But if you see a downed power line, call 9-1-1 first, then us. If you see a wildfire, please go straight to 9-1-1.”
If PUD customers want to report a power outage, call 509-447-3137. A representative will ask questions about the caller’s location, situation and dispatch the necessary staff to fix the issue. During large outages PUD phones can experience a high volume of calls. For those who don’t want to wait on the phone, feel free to push # and leave a message with your address and/or account number and PUD staff will put the information in their system.
Pend Oreille County residents are encouraged to follow local fire restrictions, prepare for possible extended outages and sign up for emergency notifications from the county at www.pendoreille.gov/ emergency-management/ page/nixle.
For more information on how to prepare for a power outage and/or possible wildfire, go to www.popud.org/outage/ outage-center.
SOPHIA MATTICE-ALDOUS IS A MURROW NEWS FELLOW WORKING DIRECTLY WITH NEWSROOMS AT THE NEWPORT MINER AND RANGE MEDIA THROUGH A PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY. HER REPORTING IS AVAILABLE FOR USE VIA CREATIVE COMMONS WITH CREDIT.
