SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Avista implemented its first public safety power shutoff (PSPS) due to wildfire risk on Sunday.
Over 1,500 Avista customers in the Indian Trail neighborhood lost power for a few hours on September 29 when Avista cut power to the area to prevent potential wildfires.
“As we watch the weather and conditions change, that’s how we determine when to evaluate our fire safety mode measures,” said Vern Malensky, Avista’s Program Director of Wildfire Resiliency.
Sunday’s weather included high winds, dry conditions and dust storms throughout the Inland Northwest.
Avista said the conditions caused over 20 service areas to be at an elevated or extreme risk of fire.
The circuit connected to the Indian Trails area was in critical wildfire danger, which led the company to execute the PSPS.
“With the event that we saw, the winds were coming in, humidity was decreasing, and we haven’t had significant precipitation in a long time, and those fuel conditions led us to identify that one specific area that had critical risk,” said Malensky.
Avista worked with the Department of Natural Resources and the National Weather Service to monitor the weather and make appropriate decisions.
Malensky said Avista started using a wildfire resiliency plan last year. It helps inform decision-making as to when and where to implement PSPS and other safety measures.
He said effectively communicating with customers is a top priority for Avista.
“The most up-to-date contact information we have with our customers allows us to communicate with them in ways that they want. And to understand their specific, unique circumstances, like if they have medical situations or different life-support needs. The more we can communicate with our customers, the better,” said Malensky.
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