Oregon public power utilities Emerald PUD and the Eugene Water and Electric Board, along with Oregon electric cooperative Lane Electric, have been collaborating to develop simple, common terminology related to wildfires.
The three utilities are looking to reduce public confusion during fire weather events.
With seven electric utilities serving the area, confusion stems from utilities using different terms and descriptions to communicate escalating fire dangers and utility responses.
Emerald PUD General Manager Kyle Roadman noted the effort in his mid-year update, which was posted in late June on the PUD’s website.
“In addition to our ongoing work to prevent wildfires, staff is also constantly seeking to improve how we communicate wildfire risk to customers. This season, staff has been working with other local utilities to agree on simple, common terminology to make this information more useful to customers,” he wrote.
Emerald PUD will publish the finalized terminology in its Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which will be available on the utility’s website.
The American Public Power Association has curated a collection of resources to assist utilities in crafting their wildfire mitigation plans.
Accessing these tools, expertise, and strategies can help utilities develop a robust wildfire mitigation plan to effectively address wildfire risks and protect their communities from the devastating effects of wildfires.
