Edison International

06/13/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/13/2025 15:58

SCE Prepares for Early Fire Season

In the foothills of Mount Baldy, Southern California Edison's wildfire science expert Tom Rolinski can sense summer setting in and, with it, an early fire season.

"We're seeing drought conditions return to Southern California, which means we could see large-scale fires as soon as late June," said Rolinski.

SCE's wildfire science expert Tom Rolinski studies fuels, weather and topography to create models of wildfire behavior.

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.

To do that, 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."

SCE and surrounding fire agencies sample live vegetation in high fire risk areas every two weeks and share the data from separate locations.

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 is considered a one-hour dead fuel because it takes an hour to respond to temperature and humidity changes. Broken twigs are 10 and 100-hour dead fuels, while a dead tree trunk is a 1,000-hour dead fuel and so on.

"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.

SCE has over 1,800 weather stations throughout the state that report real-time data every 10 minutes.

This year's wildfire prediction differs from prior, rainier years, and involves both good and bad news. The good news: Lack of winter rains means the grasses - which become highly flammable one-hour fuels when dead - are 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 will cause the vegetation to dry out more quickly, potentially kickstarting fire season a bit sooner.

Remaining watchful of the coming fire season's timeline and intensity equips SCE to take proactive steps in protecting 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 speed 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."

For more information on SCE's wildfire mitigation efforts, visit sce.com/wildfire.

Edison International published this content on June 13, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 13, 2025 at 21:58 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at support@pubt.io