On February 25, 2024, Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern or SWPA) maintenance crews were alerted to two different wildfire events in the Southwestern transmission line system.
Southwestern Power Administration
March 8, 2024
minute read time
On February 25, 2024, Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern or SWPA) maintenance crews were alerted to two different wildfire events that crossed parts of the Southwestern transmission line system. The first was in Ozark-St. Francis National Forest in north central Arkansas and the second was in eastern Oklahoma near Vian.
The Springfield Maintenance Unit, led by Kale Bailey, Springfield Regional Maintenance Manager, responded to the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest prescribed burn area after Southwestern Operations contacted Bailey about an outage in transmission line No. 3001. The Springfield Line Crew quickly responded to the outage caused by the Victor Road Fire prescribed burn crossing Southwestern's right-of-way and found three structures damaged. One structure was completely replaced, two others were repaired, and the transmission line was reenergized on February 29, 2024.
The fire in eastern Oklahoma was a prairie wildfire, specifically the 4490 Road Fire near Vian, Oklahoma. Dillion Fields, Gore Regional Maintenance Manager, was contacted directly by area firefighters regarding a damaged structure along transmission line No. 3005. The transmission structure was inspected by the Gore Line Crew and and found to be stable. The line remained energized to minimize impacts to the electric grid, with crews planning to replace the structure during the next scheduled maintenance outage of the line.
According to Ryan Hoog, Director of Southwestern’s Division of Maintenance, the fires were not caused by any Southwestern equipment and are exactly the kind of emergency situation that maintenance crews prepare for.
“Our transmission system is naturally susceptible to fire,” Ryan Hoog says, “but we do prepare ourselves for this possibility. Most areas within Southwestern’s footprint rarely have wildfire and prescribed burn problems, but we’re ready when they do. Our maintenance teams prepare for these possibilities by personally keeping an eye out for dangers in the system area and keeping a close watch on outages and reports. Also, to prepare the transmission lines physically, rights-of-way clearing along transmission line paths are maintained by crews to keep debris and vegetation back away from lines. Also, in areas that are have a higher chance of fire, Southwestern crews will install metal flashing around the bottom to help protect from fire.”
Each maintenance unit completes a daily safety meeting to share information about the transmission system and any emergencies that might be happening, and Hoog attributes the health of the Southwestern transmission line system to teams being prepared in this manner.
“I am extremely appreciative of every Southwestern team member being able and willing to respond to emergency situations like this.” Hoog says.
Southwestern Administrator Mike Wech says that the response to these events is a testament to Southwestern maintenance crews’ dedication and emergency response preparedness.
“Their efforts are paramount in keeping Southwestern’s transmission system at peak up-time and availability,” Wech says. “I would also offer that, for these particular events, the great work and effort by staff was done in less-than-ideal conditions. As you might imagine, the air quality was impacted from the fires and, in the National Forest areas, the terrain can be rough, which hampers accessibility getting to the line structures. Once again, our personnel rose to the occasion when called upon, and I am very thankful for their efforts.”
Story has been adjusted to reflect updated information