IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2022 - 16

Powerlines
and Wildfires:
Overview,
Perspectives, and
Climate Change
O
16
OVERHEAD POWERLINES CROSS EXTENSIVE AREAS
of forest and grasslands, and these areas are often flammable
and can burn. Wildfire is a natural phenomenon important to
many ecosystems around the globe, but also capable of considerable
damage to people and communities. As a result of
human activity in natural spaces, people have altered wildfire
regimes over time, and wildfires have become a threat to people,
to their property, and infrastructure. For example, Figure
1 shows the thousands of wildfires detected by satellite
around the globe during seven days of early September 2021;
the image gives an indication of the planetary magnitude of
the phenomenon. Powerlines represent both a way in which
human activity has changed the natural wildfire regimes (i.e.,
an ignition source), and vital infrastructure vulnerable to fire.
The interaction of powerlines with high winds or vegetation
can initiate wildfires, such as the 2018 Camp Fire in California
that killed 85 people [see " Camp Fire (2018) " ]. While there are
other more sophisticated ways to mitigate the ignition risk posed
by powerlines, one method employed by utility companies is to
shut off lines to prevent any possible ignition during periods of
high winds and high fire danger. These preventative shutoffs
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2021.3122755
Date of current version: 19 January 2022
ieeepower & energy magazine
have multiple negative consequences and can interfere with the
operation of critical infrastructure like hospitals or food supply.
Wildfires can also damage powerlines when intense heat
from flames or large quantities of smoke deteriorate the lines
and impair their performance. Wildfire damage to power networks
also impacts critical infrastructure and communities.
While preparing this article in September 2021, a fire at an
interconnector in the United Kingdom caused the power supply
to cease for nearly a week and is expected to operate at
a reduced capacity for six months. According to the British
Broadcasting Company, the fire resulted in a 19% electricity
price increase the day after. Considering the close integration
of human activity with wildland ecosystems, and that ecosystems
and the climate are changing, the question arises whether
interruptions of electric power as a result of wildfire (or threat
of wildfire ignition) could become more frequent in the future.
The risk wildfires pose to infrastructure and communities
depends on several factors. To determine this risk, an objective
against which consequences can be evaluated needs to be
defined. In a remote region with a very low population, a wildfire
might burn large areas without damaging infrastructure.
It might, however, still cause severe damage to the ecosystem.
In general terms, risk is the product of the severity of an event
(the damage caused), and the probability of its occurrence (the
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january/february 2022
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2022

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