IID linemen aiding e orts to restore power grid damaged in Carr Fire
WHISKEYTOWN, Calif. – Imperial Irrigation District linemen have been dispatched to help restore power to the areas devastated by the Carr Fire, which had burned an estimated 131,896 acres in Shasta and Trinity counties and was only 39 percent contained as of Friday evening, according to Cal-Fire.
As of Friday evening, 1,067 residences, 19 commercial structures and 481 outbuildings had been destroyed, with another 189 residences, eight commercial structures and 59 outbuildings damaged, according to Cal-Fire. Additionally, two firefighters have been killed by the inferno, which was caused by the mechanical failure of a vehicle.
Power poles and other electrical infrastructure have also been damaged, so the IID crews are working to restore power to the region. phone Friday. “We have 10 employees who were sent to help. The group consists of two line construction crews — one from Imperial Valley [and] one from our La Quinta division.”
In addition, two employees with the IID o ce of emergency management were also sent to help coordinate the disaster response, Schettler said.
“Around here, when we have an emergency, they help coordinate the different agencies that are working with each other,” he said. “They will just take over roles up there and help out whoever is coordinating up there. They will pitch in and help those duties.”
IID o cials received a call for mutual aid from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Monday, Schettler said. PG&E provides natural gas and electric service to about 16 million people throughout a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California, according to the company’s website.
After receiving the call for help, IID crews departed for the Carr Fire, Schettler said, adding it is a “long trip — some 162 miles north of Sacramento. After the trip, the crews were able to check equipment and get some rest before being put to work the following day to help to restore PG&E’s system.”
IID crews are working in canyons and hills, sometimes within sight of the still burning landscape, Schettler said.
“The guys can still see some of the burning that is going on,” he said. “They are real close.”
Specialized abilities
As linemen, the IID crews are a rare commodity in short supply around the Carr fire, Schettler said.
“You’ve got to help out your neighbor,” Bob Schettler, IID communications specialist, told Imperial Valley Press over the
“This is kind of a specialized field,” he said. “Not just anybody can do this work. [PG&E had] to reach out to the people who are skilled and experienced in it. These are linemen. These are people who work on energized lines. They climb poles with spikes in their boots, they work on live wire, and it’s a job that is pretty dangerous.”
The linemen undergo rigorous training for the job, Schettler said.
“It does take a while. We have a journeyman program here and you will start out as a groundman. It does take a while, at least a few years” to be promoted to linemen. “In that time not only are you working full time, but going to school when you are not working.”
Fixing the grid
The IID crews are fixing the grid one power pole at a time, Schettler said. “When a line goes down, be it by a fire or a car hits it and knocks a pole over, somebody has got to respond to that. Either fix it or dig a new hole.”
And there are many poles to repair or replace, Schettler said, which means long hours.
“Sixteen hours on, eight hours off,” he said, adding it is hot and smoky on the job sites.
PG&E is expected to reimburse the IID for usage of its crews, Schettler said.
“It is a mutual aid situation, and our costs are covered. PG&E will likely put in for disaster assistance. Likely, the governor will declare a state of emergency.”
If there is ever a disaster in Imperial or Riverside Counties, other utility companies will respond to a local request for mutual aid, Schettler said.
“IID has mutual aid agreements with several utilities in California, so if we need them, or they need us, we’re able to call upon each other,” he said.