PHOTO BY THE COLLEGIAN
As most Californians are aware, wildfire season is upon us.
Knowing about potential power shutoffs and staying alert with your surroundings will help not only you and your family, but the community prevent any potential wildfire ignitions.
“I am very confident that we can get this campus evacuated” said District Police Chief Robert Di Piero about the Delta campus, if an emergency evacuation is needed.
When a campus shutdown is due to a power outage, it will not require an emergency evacuation but when a decision is made to close campus “(it’s) all hands on deck; police, custodial staff, maintenance and operations staff, building captains” said Di Piero.
PG&E Shutdowns
In a way to prevent wildfires, PG&E may turn off electric power in certain areas where humidity is at or below 20 percent, winds of 20 miles per hour or higher, or wind gusts of 40 miles per hour or higher. According to Michael Rochman, Managing Director School Project for Utility Rate Reduction (SPURR), the power shutoffs, “referred to as ‘de-energization’ or Public Safety Power Shut-offs (PSPS), to protect public safety. In the PSPS program, power may be cut on transmission and distribution lines in fire-prone areas when the risk of wildfire is deemed to be high.”
SPURR is the utilities joint powers authority of California public schools.
Fortunately, Delta College is not considered to be in a fire-prone area, but many surrounding cities are, which can affect some students that attend Delta College.
As of now, Delta has not been affected by any PG&E shutdowns.
“Knock on wood, we won’t be affected by it,” said Di Piero.
Wildfires
Most of Northern California can look back to a year ago and think about the Camp Fire in Butte County, one of the deadliest, most destructive wildfires in state history. That blaze burned 153,336 acres, destroyed 18,804 structures and killed 85 people. Smoke from the fire caused such poor air quality that Delta campus was closed down from Nov. 15 to Nov. 25, 2018.
Since Oct. 31, there have been 12 fires throughout California according to Cal Fire, including the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, the Getty Fire in Los Angeles County and the Hillside Fire in San Bernardino County.
PG&E has admitted that some of its equipment may be linked to the cause of the Kincade fire, but according to Cal Fire the cause is still under investigation. As of Nov. 3, the fire has reached 77,758 acres burned and was 78 percent contained.
Preparation
Whether you live in a high fire-prone area or not, one should always be prepared for anything. According to Cal Fire, familiarizing yourself with a “Ready, Set, Go Program” can help you be prepared:
- Ready: for a wildfire starts by maintaining 100 feet of defensible space (cleared off space from debris that may help reduce the spread of fire) and hardening homes with fire-resistant building materials.
- Set: creating a Wildfire Action Plan with your family which consists of having a designated meeting location and emergency escape routes from your home and community.
- Go: be prepared to Go and evacuate your home.
Here at Delta, one can find generators throughout campus, however the generators will only provide electricity to “certain areas” which will be enough “to get people safely off the campus” said Di Piero.