FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AZFamily) — Arizona Public Services has implemented new fire prevention technology this year, some of which is attached directly to power lines.
APS delivers electricity to 1.4 million homes and businesses through 38,000 miles of power lines.
With so much territory to cover, safety is a top priority.
The aim of this technology is therefore to track the weather conditions that lead to a fire, either before or after the spark is struck.
Starting this year, APS began installing weather stations and cameras on some of its utility poles.
“Wind speed and direction are on the left side of the screen and we have a rain gauge on the right side,” explained Wade Ward, fire mitigation manager for APS.
Currently, there are 55 weather stations and about 35 cameras installed in the state, with more set to start being installed soon.
“It’s to get a better understanding of what’s going on in our circuits,” Ward said, “so we can get a direct view of one of our circuits from underneath and get a better understanding of what the weather conditions are, what the fire conditions are likely to be.”
All this information is fed back into the system to provide real-time information on the fire situation before or after a spark has broken out.
“This allows us to have direct visibility into all of the weather stations and all of the cameras,” Ward said, “so we can get direct information about what’s actually going on along that particular line.”
It also helps APS determine if a public safety power shutoff is necessary.
The purpose of a PSPS is to prevent power lines and electrical systems from igniting wildfires due to sparks or downed power lines during extreme fire conditions, including high winds that could blow trees into power lines.
APS said the impacts will primarily affect rural areas in the High Country and not larger cities like Flagstaff and Prescott.
They are using preventative measures and fire-tracking techniques to ensure that as few people as possible are affected.
“This is where the data we get from these weather stations and cameras allows us to very precisely determine which areas will be targeted for a PSPS and then only put out power outages where it’s needed,” Ward said, “especially in windy weather conditions.”
Thankfully, there have been no PSPS events so far this year, but all of these precautions are in place to keep our community safe.
“We are frequently impacted by wildfires and want to do all we can to mitigate risk and increase reliability for our customers,” Ward said.
APS also encourages you to update your contact information on their website so you can receive the latest information when an outage or PSPS occurs in your area, which you can find here.
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