From storms and aging infrastructure to the growing use of distributed energy resources (DERs), the utility industry faces increasing challenges to grid resiliency. Among these challenges, wildfires are a standout because of the role utilities can inadvertently play in causing them.
In 2020, Colorado experienced the two largest fires in state history, both of which came dangerously close to the Town of Estes Park. The town evacuated 35,000 people for four days — a smaller number of people in outlying areas had to evacuate for nearly a month. Following that close call, the municipality’s utility moved to develop and maintain an updated wildfire mitigation plan (WMP) to ensure it was doing everything possible to mitigate future risks of catastrophic fire in the community.