Powering forward. Together.

King Fire Impacts on SMUD Hydro OperationsGrant Nelson, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

17 February, 2015

• UARP description• King Fire statistics• King Fire impacts on

SMUD hydro operations

• Mitigation of fire impacts

• Costs• Lessons learned

Agenda

King Fire Statistics• Started by arsonist on

September 13, 2014– 100% containment on

October 9• Over 97,700 acres burned• Records set:

– Fifteen mile spread in 6 hours– 23% of burn area suffered

high soil burn severity– 210,000 gallons of retardant

dropped in one day– >8,000 personnel at peak

• From as far as Florida and Minnesota

King Fire Statistics, continued• 21,000 homes threatened• Twelve homes destroyed• 2,830 people evacuated• Twelve firefighters injured• Over 640,000 total

gallons of retardant used• 329-miles of fire line cut• Five SMUD employees

evacuated from their homes

Daily Fire Progression Fire Grew

50,000 Acres on Sept.17

Soil Burn Severity

23% of Burn Area Suffered High Soil Burn Severity.Was 7% for the Rim Fire

VegetationBasalMortality

47% of Fire Area Suffered >90% Mortality

Pyrocumulus Cloud from Sacramento, 60+ Miles Away

Camino Penstock Vicinity

Fire Impacts to UARP• Wood poles burned on 4 kV

feeder line to Brush Creek• Loss of station service power

due to transmission shutdown

• Debris flows and erosion• Fiber optic and conductors

on penstock damaged

Fire Impacts to UARP, continued• Communication link to

remote gauging stations lost– Daily manual compliance

reads required• Mandatory evacuation of

hydro O&M facility– Critical equipment relocated

prior to evacuation • Increased post-fire traffic on

narrow, winding area roads– SMUD– Contractors– USFS Temporary antenna for gauging telemetry

Fire Impacts to UARPJaybird Powerhouse

Access Road After First Rain

Fire Impacts to UARP

Fiber Optic/Power Cables on Penstock

Fallen Tree Takes Out Gauging Station Communication System

(Propane Tanks Survive!)

Replacing Burned Out Power and Fiber

Slab Creek Reservoir Drainage

Camino Adit Road

Erosion Rills Forming

Transmission Right of Way40 acres of trans-mission RoW was used as afire break

Hazard Tree Removal on RoW~One million board feet of timber being removed

Fire caused no damage to transmission system

Natural Recovery In Process

Mitigation Efforts

• SMUD has entered into a Collection Agreement with Forest Service for Helimulching– Chopped weed-free straw applied by helicopter– Slopes from 15% to 60% with high burn intensity

to be treated – Treatment of approximately 250 acres in Brush

Creek Drainage– Projected reduction in sediment yield is 6000 tons

Mitigation Efforts, continued• Hazard tree removal

– Along transmission RoW– Adjacent to SMUD facilities– Behind SMUD gates

• Transmission RoW fire line reseeded– Seed mixture approved by the Forest Service

• Roadside ditches and culverts cleaned after each storm

• Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team performed drainage improvements along selected roads

SMUD’s Recovery Costs

Scope Cost ($)Hazard Tree Removal $1,565,000Fiber and 4 kV Line Replacement $1,002,000Penstock fiber and cable replacement $380,000Road Clearing $86,000Transmission Related Costs $535,000Helimulching $360,000Other $350,000Total $4,478,000

• Expand upon FERC-required EAP requirements to include disasters beyond dam failure

• Be prepared to operate from remote location(s)• Prepare contingency plans for

– Trapped personnel– Non-functioning generation and/or

transmission– O&M facility evacuation

• Have alternate staging area for key personnel and equipment

Lessons Learned

• Ensure all personnel contact info is current• Train ICP/EOC liaisons

– Incident Command System familiarity– Company protocols and procedures– Facility familiarity including transmission and

feeder lines – Familiarity with local OES personnel

Lessons Learned, continued

• The King Fire was devastating and record-setting

• Fortunately, no loss of human life

• All things considered, impact to SMUD not too severe

Conclusions