Alert HL&P Customers: Red Flag Fire Warning Conditions!

Much of the West is facing extreme drought and high fire risk conditions. Heber Light & Power’s service territory includes high fire risk areas with dry grass, canyon winds, beetle-killed timber, steep hillsides, and fast-growing neighborhoods. We are already seeing wildfires burning across the state, and we must all do our part to stay aware of these dangerous conditions and help prevent fires.

Electric utilities have a serious responsibility to prevent electric equipment from starting fires. That is why we are strengthening our vegetation management, inspecting equipment, improving outage communications, and, in the most extreme conditions, considering Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

A Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, is exactly what it sounds like: a utility may intentionally turn off power in a specific area when fire risk becomes too dangerous to keep certain lines energized safely. It is not done casually. A PSPS can interrupt homes, businesses, medical devices, wells, internet service, refrigeration, and daily life. But in rare, high-risk weather conditions, the choice may be between a temporary outage and the possibility of a catastrophic ignition.

Heber Light & Power customers should be prepared for PSPS events when extreme wildfire concerns exist. That means having flashlights, charged phones, backup batteries, water, food, medications, and a plan for family members who rely on electricity for medical needs.

HL&P has already begun community wildfire mitigation work, including contracting with Peterson Tree Care to perform critical vegetation management in our high-risk Wildland Urban Interface areas. Their scope of work includes clearing all trees and high-risk shrubbery directly from under Primary Power Lines. Trees growing into the 15-foot clearance zone will be professionally trimmed or entirely removed based on structural risk. All operations strictly follow ANSI A300 professional tree care standards to maintain plant health and structural integrity where preservation is possible. This work may not always be convenient or pretty, but it is part of keeping power lines safer and reducing wildfire risk before smoke is in the air.

Customers can help too. Keep trees and vegetation clear of power lines. Create defensible space around your home. Clean gutters and roofs. Sign up for utility outage notifications. Know where to find HL&P’s outage map. Save the outage number: 435-654-2913. And if you ever see a downed power line, stay far away, and report it to HL&P Dispatch.

Wildfire safety is shared work. The utility has a duty to maintain a safer electric system. Property owners have a duty to reduce fuel around homes and structures. None of us controls the wind. But we can clear the brush, harden the home, trim the branches, charge the phone, and make the plan before the red-flag day arrives.