TACOMA POWER PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF ASSESSMENT TOOL

Wildfires are quickly becoming one of the more prominent natural hazards to the Pacific Northwest in the United States of America. Power companies and utilities across the West Coast have adopted practices to better manage their role within their respective communities throughout all phases of Emergency Management. Washington State Department of Natural Resources has asked all utilities to draft a Wildfire Mitigation Plan, to include PSPS practices. This project aims to identify what happens when a wildfire is approaching Tacoma Power’s service territory under Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) conditions, and the information needed to fight the fire in the event the water purveyor is an energized source. Emergency Management teams need access to this kind of information to be better prepared when coordinating resources to fight fires encroaching into urban areas. This project developed a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based application based on identifying areas of impact in the event of a PSPS, specifically on water purveyors throughout the Tacoma Power service territory. Information gathered from this assessment tool supports the Wildfire Mitigation Plan and process for Tacoma Power.