"the massive wildfire events that happened not only in the North Bay, but in the Sierra, we really got on this mission to install weather stations and do the (Public Safety Power Shutoffs)."
"a lot of weather can happen in those square miles, because of the state's varied topography, which creates thousands of micro-climates that we need to be aware of and prepare for with accurate forecasts."
"probably one of our most crucial models, as it's predicting that if we were to have an ignition, what is the probability of that ignition becoming a large, catastrophic fire from any ignition source."
After the Oct. 8, 2017 Tubbs Fire, PG&E installed more than 1,600 weather stations to monitor wind, temperature and humidity across its roughly 70,000-square-mile service area. The dense station network addresses thousands of micro-climates created by varied topography and transmits current conditions every ten minutes. PG&E developed machine-learning models, including a Fire Potential Index, to analyze large volumes of weather data and estimate the probability that an ignition would grow into a large, catastrophic fire. The data and models support operational responses such as Public Safety Power Shutoffs to reduce ignition risk during extreme conditions and improve preparedness.
Read at The Mercury News
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