Bonneville Power Administration: The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency based in the Pacific Northwest created in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam and to construct transmission facilities. BPA is the marketing agent for power from all 31 of the federally owned hydroelectric projects in the Pacific Northwest. The BPA is 1 of 4 regional Federal power marketing agencies within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Circuit Breaker: An electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overcurrent/overload or short circuit. The basic function is to interrupt current flow after protective relays detect a fault.
Commission: Publicly elected 3-member board of commissioners.
Danger Tree: A danger tree is any tree, on or off the right of way, that can contact electric power lines. A danger tree may be completely healthy and intact, or it may be sick or dead. Even a healthy tree could sustain damage in a severe storm and impact nearby power lines, thus the potential for “danger.”
Distribution System: The final stage in the delivery of electric power carrying electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. The OKPUD distribution system includes 13.2 KV and 24.9 KV lines not tied to generation facilities.
Drop Crotch Tree Trimming: A form of thinning used to reduce the size of large trees, involves the removal of a main branch (or leader) by cutting it back to a large, lateral branch.
Fire Hazard: “Hazard” is based on the physical conditions that give a likelihood that an area will burn over a 30 to 50-year period without considering modifications such as fuel reduction efforts.
Fire Risk: “Risk” is the potential damage a fire can do, to the area under existing conditions, including any modifications such as defensible space, irrigation and sprinklers and ignition resistant building construction which can reduce fire risk. Risk considers the susceptibility of what is being protected.
Fire Season: 1) Period(s) of the year during which wildfires are likely to occur, spread, and affect resource values sufficiently to warrant organized fire management activities. 2) A legally enacted time during which burning activities are regulated by state or local authority.
Fire Weather Watch: A term used by fire weather forecasters to notify using agencies, usually 24 to 72 hours ahead of the event, that current and developing meteorological conditions may evolve into dangerous fire weather.
Hardening: Modifications to electric infrastructure to reduce the likelihood of ignition and improve the survivability of electrical assets.
Hazard Tree: A specific type of danger tree that poses a greater likelihood of causing damage to electric power lines or equipment. In this case, the tree is structurally unsound and positioned in such a way that it could fall onto conductors.
Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL): Activated when needed during the summer fire season, IFPL are an activity closure system to reduce wildfire risk. By law (WAC 332-24-301), it applies to woods workers and other industrial forest users on 13 million acres of unimproved private, federal, and state forestlands protected by the WADNR, BLM or USFS. Levels range from Level-1 to Level-4.
Landscape: Refers generally to the area of interest in a project or study and could refer to modeled or on-the-ground conditions.
National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS): A uniform fire danger rating system that focuses on the environmental factors that control the moisture content of fuels. It combines the effects of existing and expected states of selected fire danger factors into 1 or more qualitative or numeric indices that reflect an area's fire protection needs.
Raster: An array or regular grid of square cells used to store data. Raster data is made up as a matrix of pixels, also referred to as cells in much the same way as you might find when working within a spreadsheet. They are often square and regularly spaced on a field divided into a grid of squares with each square representing a value which can be discrete (e.g. soil type) or continuous (e.g. elevation).
Recloser: Recloser is a device that is used in over-head distribution systems to interrupt the circuit to clear faults. Automatic reclosers have electronic control senses and vacuum interrupters that automatically reclose to restore service if a fault is temporary. There are several attempts that may be made to clear and reenergize the circuit and if the fault still exists the recloser locks out. Reclosers are made in single-phase and three-phase versions and use oil or vacuum interrupters.
Red Flag Warning (RFW)7: A term used by fire- weather forecasters to call attention to limited weather conditions of importance that may result in extreme burning conditions. It is issued when it is an ongoing event, or the fire weather forecaster has a high degree of confidence that Red Flag criteria will occur within 24 hours of issuance. Red Flag criteria occurs whenever a geographical area has been in a dry spell for a week or 2, or for a shorter period, if before spring green-up or after fall color, and the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) is high to extreme and the following forecast weather parameters are forecasted to be met:
- A sustained wind average 15 mph or greater;
- Relative humidity less than or equal to 25%, and;
- A temperature of greater than 75 degrees Fahrenheit
In some states, dry lightning and unstable air are criteria. A Fire Weather Watch may be issued prior to the RFW.
Right-of-Way (ROW): The corridor of land under (and adjacent to) a transmission or distribution line.
Risk: A measure of the probability and severity of adverse effects that result from exposure to a hazard.
Substation: Part of the electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system, substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of 2 different transmission voltages.
Summer Fire Rules (DNR): Washington’s “summer fire rules” are in effect April 15 through October 15. These rules apply to the 13 million acres of private and state forestlands protected from wildfire by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
These regulations affect loggers, firewood cutters, land clearers, road builders, heavy equipment operators, off-road motorcyclists, and others. During fire season, people using motorized equipment in the woods must have approved spark arresters and follow fire safety precautions. In addition, those working in the woods must have fire prevention and extinguishing equipment in good working order at the job site and workers trained in proper use.
The rules are intended to prevent forest fires and to extinguish small fires before they spread to the forested lands. These rules restrict cigarette smoking in forested areas to roads, gravels pits, or other clearings and prohibit lighting fireworks on forestland.
Transmission System: The bulk delivery of electrical energy from a generating site to an electrical substation. While OKPUD does not currently own any transmission system assets, BPA does operate several transmission lines in the county.
UAV: An unmanned aerial vehicle is a powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely.
Vegetation: Trees, shrubs, and any other woody plants.
Vegetation Management: A broad term that includes tree pruning; brush removal through the use of power saws and mowers; the judicious use of herbicides and tree growth regulators; hazard tree identification and removal; the implementation of strategies to minimize the establishment of incompatible species under and near power lines; and the control of weeds.
Wildfire: Also called wildland fire, an unplanned, uncontrolled fire in a forest, grassland, brushland, or land sown to crops.
Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP): A comprehensive plan to reduce the threat and severity of wildfire within an electric utility’s service area. Plans include the preventive strategies and programs adopted by the utility to minimize the risk of its facilities causing wildfires along with its emergency response and recovery procedures.
Wildlands: Forests, shrub lands, grasslands, and other vegetation communities that have not been significantly modified by agriculture or human development. A more specific meaning for fire managers, used by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (which coordinates programs of participating wildfire management agencies nationwide), refers to an area in which development is essentially non-existent (except for roads, railroads, power lines, and similar transportation facilities); structures, if any, are widely scattered.
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI): Line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with vegetative fuels in wildlands.
7 Source: Weather.gov Glossary