Lisa Aubry is a writer for Southern California Edison.

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Early this summer, Southern California Edison (SCE) wildfire science expert Tom Rolinski was in the foothills of Mount Baldy. He could sense summer setting in and with it, an early fire season.

“Drought conditions continue to worsen across the state, increasing the number of ignitions and acres burned above the five-year average for this time of year,” he said.

With a background in meteorology and over three decades of experience, it’s his job to help SCE create a wildfire mitigation plan that reduces potential impacts from electric equipment starting a fire.

He and his team continuously monitor 16 different high fire risk locations across SCE’s 50,000-square-mile service area — checking for moisture levels in the surrounding shrubs every two weeks. SCE focuses on areas that local fire agencies are unable to test, which can help fill in the gaps for both organizations.

“We share the information,” said Rolinski. “It’s a win-win for us both.”

In the hills of Mount Baldy, chamise — a common shrub scattered across the mountainsides — can be a fuel that Rolinski warns may burn more quickly than usual in the current drought conditions. Chamise is one of several vegetation species that SCE monitors for moisture content. Other brush and dead vegetation are categorized by how long it takes them to dry out and ignite when the weather changes.

Dead grass takes an hour to respond to temperature and humidity changes. Broken twigs can take 10 or 100 hours to respond, while a dead tree trunk is considered a 1,000-hour dead fuel.

“Knowing what factors play a role in creating catastrophic wildfires is critical in effectively combating those issues,” said Rolinski.

Aside from in-person observations, Rolinski relies on the over 1,800 weather stations SCE installed to receive real-time data every 10 minutes. He and his team use the combined information to create models that can predict fire behavior and understand what the incoming season may look like.

This year’s wildfire prediction differed from prior, rainier years and involved both good and bad news. The good news: Lack of winter rains means grass — which becomes highly flammable one-hour fuels when dead — is not as tall or as continuous as in years past. The bad news: The lower than normal snowpack and increasing drought across Southern and Central California caused the vegetation to dry out more quickly, kickstarting fire season a bit sooner.

Remaining watchful of the coming fire season’s timeline and intensity allows SCE to take proactive steps to protect natural areas like Mount Baldy and communities in its service area.

Some wildfire safety efforts include:

• Deciding whether to install coated wire, called covered conductor, or targeted underground power lines based on fire risk to best protect communities.
• Conducting more frequent inspections and speeding up vegetation management efforts in high fire risk areas to lower the risk of utility-caused ignition.
• Programming circuits to remain shut off, or deenergized, after a fault until crews can inspect the power lines and deem it safe to reenergize.

“Predicting wildfire behavior is an extremely complex process, and this year is no exception,” Rolinski said. “But the effort is well worth it when we can apply what we know to protect what we love.”

September is National Preparedness Month — a time to focus on the importance of planning for emergencies. For more information on SCE’s wildfire mitigation efforts, visit sce.com/wildfire.