Mariposa County fire initially impacted 3,139 customers and damaged more than 250 poles.
MARIPOSA, CA — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews have restored all customers who lost electricity as a result of the Oak Fire, and whose service could be restored. Service restoration was completed at 1:50 p.m. today.
The fire began on the afternoon of July 22 and quickly spread. Ultimately the fire affected 3,139 customers and caused extensive damage to PG&E infrastructure near the community of Mariposa. PG&E began responding to the fire immediately, both to support CAL FIRE for firefighter safety, and to protect electric equipment.
“Our Safety and Infrastructure Protection Teams (SIPT) began treating electric poles with fire retardant that first day, and ultimately treated more than 1,100 poles in the path of the fire. As bad as the damage was to our equipment, their work prevented even more damage and helped us restore this community safely and at a determined pace,” said Kyle Kupiec, Yosemite Division Superintendent, and Deputy PG&E Incident Commander.
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Fire Damage: Hundreds of Poles, Hazard Trees, and More
From the outset of the event, PG&E personnel worked closely with CAL FIRE to gain access to areas as it was safe to do so. PG&E’s SIPT crews began to pre-treat poles ahead of the fire with retardant. Of the 1,159 poles that SIPT treated, 123 were exposed to flames and 110 did not sustain damage.
PG&E assessment crews gained access on the second day of the event, and as more areas became safe to enter, additional assessment, vegetation management, environmental, construction, and restoration crews entered the area to work.
Damage teams inspected more than 1,000 locations and found more than 250 poles in need of replacement during reconstruction, as well as more than 1,800 trees to remove. SIPT crews also worked with assessment, vegetation, and restoration crews to prevent additional ignitions.
The restoration effort included PG&E electric and gas crews, as well as contract vegetation management crews from across California.
PG&E had Customer Service Representatives at the Local Assistance Center to support customers impacted by the fire and answer questions about restoring service.
In total, more than 770 workers responded to the fire at one of three locations in and around Mariposa.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
