Latest news with #BrianFennessy
Gizmodo
23-06-2025
- Climate
- Gizmodo
Alarming Conditions and Federal Chaos Could Spell a Disastrous California Fire Season
In January, destructive wildfires devastated Los Angeles, killing at least 30 people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. As the city rebuilds, it may face a particularly brutal summer fire season, experts warn. Thanks to a potentially deadly combination of alarming environmental conditions and sweeping cuts to emergency response agencies, the outlook on California's 2025 fire season is grim. With critical resources—particularly fire response personnel—drastically depleted, it's unclear how the state will be able to manage what is shaping up to be an active season. 'I am not confident in our ability to respond to wildfire [or] concurrent disasters this summer,' Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told Gizmodo. Unusually early mountain snowmelt, a very dry winter, and both current and projected above-average temperatures are the main factors likely to increase the frequency and intensity of California's fires this year, he said. 'Some aspects of fire season are predictable and some aspects are not. What ultimately happens will be a function of both of those things,' Swain said. 'The most likely outcome is a very active fire season both in the lower elevations and also in the higher elevations this year.' Brian Fennessy, chief of the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), agrees. 'Every predictive service model indicates that Southern California will have an active peak fire year,' he told Gizmodo in an email. 'Absent significant tropical influence that brings with it high humidity and potential precipitation, we expect the potential for large fires.' In a typical year in June, California is still pretty wet, Swain said. At higher elevations, snowpack continues to melt until July, keeping mountain soils moist. Meanwhile, lower elevations remain saturated from the state's wet season, which generally lasts from winter to spring. But this is not a typical year. 'Although the seasonal mountain snowpack was decently close to the long-term average…it melted much faster than average,' Swain said. When snowpack melts earlier, high-elevation soils dry out earlier, jumpstarting wildfire season in California's mountain regions. 'We're about a month to a month-and-a-half ahead of schedule in terms of the drying in the mountains,' he explained. Because of this, the higher mountain forest fire risk is probably going to be 'a lot higher' than usual by July, August, and September. In California's low-lying regions, which include most of the state's area and population, experts are already seeing an uptick in fire activity. The reasons vary for different parts of the state, Swain said, but in Southern California, it's due to a very dry winter. 'We know this because we had the worst, most destructive fires on record in L.A. in January, which is usually the peak of the rainy season,' he explained. In low-lying, inland areas of Northern California, it's been unseasonably hot for the past month. In addition to raising current fire risk, the above-average temperatures suggest the state is in for an incredibly hot summer, according to Swain. 'To the extent that we have seasonal predictions, the one for this summer and early fall is screaming, 'yikes—this looks like a very hot summer,' potentially across most of the West,' he said. In fact, it could be among the warmest on record. Increased temperatures will make the landscape even drier—and thus more flammable—than it already is. But hot, dry conditions cannot spark a wildfire alone. Fires need fuel, and this year, there's plenty of it to go around. Over the past several years, California's low-elevation regions have received a lot of rain, allowing grasses to flourish, Swain said. As this vegetation continues to dry out, it could fuel fast-moving brush fires that can quickly engulf large areas. All of this points to an active season not just in California, but across much of the West. The National Interagency Fire Center's significant wildland fire potential outlook, which predicts wildfire risk across the U.S. from June through September, shows large swaths of the West with 'above-normal' fire risk throughout the summer. Still, scientists can't forecast the timing, intensity, or exact location of future fires. The biggest question mark is ignition, according to Swain. The primary ignition sources for wildfire are lightning strikes and human activity, both of which are near-impossible to predict. 'At a seasonal scale, we don't know how many lightning events there'll be, we don't know how careful or uncareful people will be during these weather events, and that's kind of the wild card,' he said. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has significantly reduced staff and proposed major budget cuts at multiple agencies that assist disaster response and recovery, including FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency). According to the Associated Press, Trump plans to begin 'phasing out' FEMA after hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30. Disaster response is already locally led and state-managed, but FEMA is responsible for coordinating resources from federal agencies, providing direct assistance programs for households, and funding public infrastructure repairs, the AP reports. Dismantling this agency would shift the full burden of disaster recovery to the states, which Swain calls 'a big concern.' 'Everybody I know in the emergency management world is tearing out their hair right now,' he said. 'Our ability to do concurrent disaster management is severely degraded, and by all accounts, is going to get much worse in the next three or four months.' The U.S. Forest Service has also taken a hit, losing 10% of its workforce as of mid-April, according to Politico. While the Department of Agriculture has said that none of the Forest Service's 'operational' wildland firefighters were fired, but the cuts did impact 'thousands' of red card-holding federal employees, according to Swain. These employees are not official firefighters, but they are trained and certified to respond to wildfires in times of need. The cuts have also affected incident management teams who lead wildfire response and ensure the safety of firefighters on the ground, he said. 'We lost both the infantry, if you will, and the generals in the wildland fire world,' Swain said. 'Despite a number of claims to the contrary.' What's more, Trump recently ordered government officials to consolidate wildland firefighting forces—which are currently split among five agencies and two Cabinet departments—into a single force. He gave the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 90 days to comply, which means the shakeup would occur during California's wildfire season. Swain thinks restructuring might be a good idea in the long run, but dismantling the organizational structure of wildland firefighting during the peak of what is expected to be a particularly severe fire season—with no specific plan to reconstitute it during said season—is not. While Chief Fennessy described current federal disaster policy as a 'big unknown,' he appears more optimistic about the consolidation. 'It is believed that consolidating the five federal wildland fire agencies will achieve operational efficiencies and cost savings not realized in the past,' he said. The firefighters of the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service will be actively working together with the land management agencies to accomplish fire prevention, fuel mitigation, and prescribed fire goals, Fennessy said. 'The consolidation represents an opportunity to significantly improve wildfire response nationally, statewide, and locally.' Despite federal uncertainties and a troubling forecast, Fennessy said the OCFA is well-prepared for California's fire season this year. 'All of our firefighters just completed their annual refresher training and have been briefed on what to expect through the rest of the calendar year and perhaps beyond,' he said. Swain still has concerns. 'Everybody involved is going to do their best, and there are going to be heroic efforts,' he said, adding that many firefighters will be putting in a lot of unpaid overtime and taking on even more stress and physical risk than usual this year. 'Those are not the people we should be taking resources away from.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southern California Edison submits three-year wildfire mitigation plan
(Reuters) -Southern California Edison (SCE), a unit of utility Edison International, said on Friday it has submitted a three-year Wildfire Mitigation Plan to California's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. The plan builds on efforts to address immediate and long-term wildfire risks in response to evolving customer needs and extreme weather events, SCE said. The company expects an investment of $6.2 billion over three years from 2026 to 2028, which includes installation of at least additional 440 circuit miles of covered conductor and nearly 260 circuit miles of underground distribution lines. "With drought conditions across the state, we are preparing for another busy year" fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority Brian Fennessy said. Southern California Edison has been facing multiple lawsuits alleging that its electrical equipment started one of the major wildfires in the Los Angeles area – the Eaton fire. In April, the utility had submitted an initial plan to rebuild the areas within its service territory that were devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires, where it estimated the cost to be between $860 million and $925 million. The wildfires tore across Los Angeles starting on January 7, leading to dozens of deaths and destroying thousands of homes. It is estimated to be the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. The WMP includes safety tools and methodologies such as AI and machine learning detection, early fault detection and alternative undergrounding approaches, SCE said.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southern California Edison's Wildfire Mitigation Plan Leverages Grid Innovations to Advance Community Safety
Three-year plan provides blueprint for expanded public safety measures ROSEMEAD, Calif., May 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Southern California Edison submitted its 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) to California's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. The plan builds on ongoing efforts to address immediate and long-term wildfire risks in response to evolving community needs and extreme weather events. "We developed our three-year plan with a layered defense strategy to help safeguard our communities against wildfire threats," said Steven Powell, president and CEO of SCE. "The heartbreaking January wildfires in Southern California underscore the importance and urgency in advancing mitigations and using new tools to increase infrastructure resiliency and safety. While wildfire risk can never be fully eliminated, we continue to harden the grid and invest in innovative approaches to bring us as close to zero as possible." SCE anticipates an investment of $6.2 billion over three years to achieve the WMP, which calls for installation of at least an additional 440 circuit miles of covered conductor and at least 260 circuit miles of underground distribution lines. The company also seeks continued support for aerial firefighting assets throughout the service area, including the world's largest helitankers with nighttime firefighting capabilities. "With drought conditions across the state, we are preparing for another busy year," said Brian Fennessy, fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority. "The intensity of recent fires is a reminder of how important it is to hit fast and hard – and how devastating it can be if we don't react quickly. Having dedicated aerial resources funded by SCE allows us to respond swiftly and effectively to wildfires, securing the tools and support needed to protect lives and property." Enhanced Technology Driving Safety The 2026-2028 WMP includes new and expanded tools and methodologies to improve safety, reliability and efficiency. Highlights include: Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiter: Immediately detects ground faults and reduces voltage when a line contacts the ground while maintaining service through remaining lines for customers. AI and Machine Learning Detection: Advanced models to improve grid inspections and identify maintenance needs, with faster, more accurate diagnostics and enhanced quality control. Vegetation Management via Remote Sensing: LiDAR and satellite imagery for precise, proactive and effective vegetation monitoring and management to help prevent ignitions. Alternative Undergrounding Approaches: Protected lines installed at ground level instead of traditional undergrounding (i.e., trenching into the ground), allowing SCE to perform grid hardening work more quickly and cost effectively. Early Fault Detection Expansion: Expand this grid "health monitoring" system to 200 new locations, helping SCE detect equipment failures early. Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) remain an important tool in wildfire prevention, given the threat of extreme weather events and potential for urban fire spread in Southern California. SCE plans to bolster customer support and outreach to improve safety and lessen the hardship of PSPS events. "PSPS saves lives," said Jill C. Anderson, executive vice president and chief operating officer for SCE. "During the windstorm this past January, we identified nearly 90 potential ignition sources in the storm's aftermath that were prevented because the lines were deenergized due to PSPS. We continue to make investments in critical safety measures, such as covered conductor and fast-acting fuses that prevent potential ignitions across the high fire risk sections of our service area." Additional new and expanded measures in the WMP include enhancements in transmission resiliency, such as more structure brushing, proactive splice shunting and subtransmission grid hardening. Other wildfire mitigation plans include increasing undergrounding efforts, integrating climate change scenarios into risk models and using AI for HD camera data feeds to assess real-time conditions of a fire. The plan continues SCE's foundational wildfire mitigations, such as installation of covered conductor, and more frequent equipment inspections and trimming of vegetation that could potentially contact power lines and lead to ignitions. "SCE's wildfire mitigation strategy continues to evolve as we balance cost, reliability and safety while pioneering innovative technologies to protect communities from wildfire risks," added Powell. Visit for more information regarding SCE's Wildfire Mitigation Plan. About Southern California Edison An Edison International (NYSE: EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California. View source version on Contacts Media Relations: (626) 302-2255Investor Relations: Sam Ramraj, (626) 302-2540News@
Business Wire
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Southern California Edison's Wildfire Mitigation Plan Leverages Grid Innovations to Advance Community Safety
ROSEMEAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Southern California Edison submitted its 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) to California's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. The plan builds on ongoing efforts to address immediate and long-term wildfire risks in response to evolving community needs and extreme weather events. 'We developed our three-year plan with a layered defense strategy to help safeguard our communities against wildfire threats,' said Steven Powell, president and CEO of SCE. 'The heartbreaking January wildfires in Southern California underscore the importance and urgency in advancing mitigations and using new tools to increase infrastructure resiliency and safety. While wildfire risk can never be fully eliminated, we continue to harden the grid and invest in innovative approaches to bring us as close to zero as possible.' SCE anticipates an investment of $6.2 billion over three years to achieve the WMP, which calls for installation of at least an additional 440 circuit miles of covered conductor and at least 260 circuit miles of underground distribution lines. The company also seeks continued support for aerial firefighting assets throughout the service area, including the world's largest helitankers with nighttime firefighting capabilities. 'With drought conditions across the state, we are preparing for another busy year,' said Brian Fennessy, fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority. 'The intensity of recent fires is a reminder of how important it is to hit fast and hard – and how devastating it can be if we don't react quickly. Having dedicated aerial resources funded by SCE allows us to respond swiftly and effectively to wildfires, securing the tools and support needed to protect lives and property.' Enhanced Technology Driving Safety The 2026-2028 WMP includes new and expanded tools and methodologies to improve safety, reliability and efficiency. Highlights include: Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiter: Immediately detects ground faults and reduces voltage when a line contacts the ground while maintaining service through remaining lines for customers. AI and Machine Learning Detection: Advanced models to improve grid inspections and identify maintenance needs, with faster, more accurate diagnostics and enhanced quality control. Vegetation Management via Remote Sensing: LiDAR and satellite imagery for precise, proactive and effective vegetation monitoring and management to help prevent ignitions. Alternative Undergrounding Approaches: Protected lines installed at ground level instead of traditional undergrounding (i.e., trenching into the ground), allowing SCE to perform grid hardening work more quickly and cost effectively. Early Fault Detection Expansion: Expand this grid 'health monitoring' system to 200 new locations, helping SCE detect equipment failures early. Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) remain an important tool in wildfire prevention, given the threat of extreme weather events and potential for urban fire spread in Southern California. SCE plans to bolster customer support and outreach to improve safety and lessen the hardship of PSPS events. 'PSPS saves lives,' said Jill C. Anderson, executive vice president and chief operating officer for SCE. 'During the windstorm this past January, we identified nearly 90 potential ignition sources in the storm's aftermath that were prevented because the lines were deenergized due to PSPS. We continue to make investments in critical safety measures, such as covered conductor and fast-acting fuses that prevent potential ignitions across the high fire risk sections of our service area.' Additional new and expanded measures in the WMP include enhancements in transmission resiliency, such as more structure brushing, proactive splice shunting and subtransmission grid hardening. Other wildfire mitigation plans include increasing undergrounding efforts, integrating climate change scenarios into risk models and using AI for HD camera data feeds to assess real-time conditions of a fire. The plan continues SCE's foundational wildfire mitigations, such as installation of covered conductor, and more frequent equipment inspections and trimming of vegetation that could potentially contact power lines and lead to ignitions. 'SCE's wildfire mitigation strategy continues to evolve as we balance cost, reliability and safety while pioneering innovative technologies to protect communities from wildfire risks,' added Powell. Visit for more information regarding SCE's Wildfire Mitigation Plan. An Edison International (NYSE: EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
