Washington State's Grant PUD lost 15 wood distribution poles in the wildfire that threatened Coulee City earlier this month and crews have now installed a new, fabric wrap around the lower portion of the new poles to make them more resistant to fire damage.
The project is part of an effort to improve wildfire resiliency along more of the Grant PUD power grid, for safety and to reduce wild-fire-related outages.
The fabric wrap creates a thermal barrier between the pole and fire, Ron Alexander, vice president of Power Delivery Operations, explained in a call after a recent PUD Commission workshop.
Plans are underway to wrap the fabric around all wood transmission poles.
Earlier forms of protection, like wildfire-resistant paint and earlier versions of the fabric proved less effective than hoped, he said.
Other efforts will include better vegetation control around poles and electric infrastructure in the field, he said.
Commissioners will get their first look at a complete resiliency strategy later this year.
