PG&E Crews, Helicopters Head To LA Wildfires To Help

BAY AREA, CA—PG&E sent crews and equipment this week to aid firefighting agencies and utility providers in the Los Angeles area as catastrophic wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds continued to burn.

PG&E dispatched two Blackhawk helicopters to the LA wildfires to support Cal Fire’s firefighting efforts. The helicopters arrived Wednesday afternoon.

The utility company also mobilized 25 Safety and Infrastructure Protection Team crews to Southern California to provide mutual assistance at the request of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, PG&E said Thursday.

The crews will assist LADWP with electric and water asset protection by applying fire retardant on poles and other equipment, checking fire-damaged utility equipment and making the area safe for LADWP crews to restore power. Some electric distribution crews also will travel to Southern California to help with restoration.

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"The challenging wildfire conditions we saw last year have carried forward into the start of 2025 for parts of California that haven’t experienced any relief from rain," said Mark Quinlan, senior vice president of Wildfire, Emergency & Operations for PG&E. "We are very fortunate to have experienced a few significant rainstorms in our service area this rain season. This puts us in a good position to share wildfire response resources and crews with hometowns and utilities in Southern California."

Peter Kenny, senior vice president of PG&E Electric Operations, said there has been an unprecedented number of extreme weather events in our hometowns and across the nation.

"It is heartbreaking to see the devastation caused by the catastrophic wildfires in Southern California," Kenny said. "With immense empathy for the wildfire challenges that our friends, families and neighbors are experiencing, our teams are enroute to provide support in the impacted areas. I continue to be inspired by our team’s unwavering commitment to not only serve our customers but those in need beyond our hometowns."

Monitoring Wind Conditions For PG&E Customers

As PG&E continued to monitor the current high wind-low humidity weather event that could cause ignitions, the utility has activated its "enhanced powerline safety settings" across multiple counties. Three counties in its service area, Kern, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, were under red flag conditions.

"We’ve seen gusts above 40 miles per hour in the southern part of our service area that will continue into tomorrow," said Evan Duffey, a manager in PG&E's Meteorology and Fire Services Department. "While it’s not unusual to see high wind gusts in January, it is unusual combined with the lack of rain we’ve seen so far this year down south. We will continue to closely watch conditions as they develop and provide data-driven information to our field operations team so they can make informed decisions about the grid."

The utility said it had no imminent plans Thursday for PSPS events in its service area. Nonetheless, PG&E called on customers to stay vigilant and have a "go bag" ready for every member of their household. Customers can visit PG&E's online Safety Action Center for more on emergency preparedness resources, the utility said.

"We encourage all PG&E customers and Californians to have a plan and be ready and prepared for different types of extreme weather or natural disaster events year-round," said Angie Gibson, vice president of PG&E's Emergency Preparedness and Response Department. "The greatest way to stay safe is to prepare with resources and a plan."