What do you say when a friend, family member or neighbor asks a question about a specific topic pertaining to FirstEnergy? Here is some information you may want to share if you’re asked about how the company is responding to the threat of wildfires in the eastern area of our service territory.

An ongoing drought, low humidity and high winds have led to an increased risk of wildfires in the eastern part of our service territory.

According to the National Weather Service, a Red Flag Warning indicates that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly, and any fires that start may spread rapidly and become difficult to extinguish. The conditions are defined as dry brush fuel, sustained wind speeds of 15 mph or more and humidity levels of 25% or less.

As with any safety concern, FirstEnergy is committed to the wellbeing of our community and employees. Our team is continuously monitoring the conditions that could lead to wildfires so we can respond promptly to potential threats.

We are closely cooperating with local first responders to coordinate efforts in wildfire prevention and response to help ensure resources are in place to manage emergencies.

What are we doing?

We are taking proactive steps to minimize the potential for power lines to contribute to the ignition or spread of fire during these critical conditions while also ensuring the continued delivery of safe and reliable power. These precautionary measures themselves do not disrupt service to our customers.

For example, we are minimizing the risk of ignition by activating the non-reclosing function on select field devices. These devices would typically re-energize a circuit using a pre-determined protection scheme to clear certain types of faults. By activating non-reclosing, the probability of ignition is significantly reduced.

Our crews are on standby to respond to any outages that may occur quickly and safely to minimize power disruptions and will patrol lines to ensure they are intact prior to re-energizing.

We are actively communicating with customers through email and social media to keep those affected informed of our plan to minimize risk and share proactive steps to stay safe. We are also engaged with the news media and public officials to get the message out.

What can you do?

It is important to stay informed during wildfire warnings and to take steps to prevent the ignition and spread of wildfires. This means abiding by the burn restrictions currently in place, avoiding the use of outdoor equipment that may cause sparks, removing any dead shrubbery around your house and not parking on dry grass.

Anyone affected by a wildfire warning should stay updated on weather conditions and safety alerts issued by local authorities.

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