This week PG&E crews were out on aerial patrols throughout San Luis Obispo County as part of the company's vegetation management program.
Patrols occurred throughout different areas on the Central Coast including Cambria, Paso Robles, San Miguel, and even through some of the more rural areas of SLO County.
“We've been flying out mainly in high fire threat district areas in the division in SLO County," said Tamara Wise, vegetation program manager.
“We patrol 100,000 miles of overhead lines a year in our service territory and they do that multiple times a year on some of these lines," added Carina Corral, PG&E communications specialist.
It's all part of the vegetation management meaning they’re looking for dead or dying trees that could pose a threat to power lines.
“During the year, we've got a lot of deciduous trees that will go dormant in the winter and in the fall. During the summer it's a lot easier to pinpoint trees that tend to be declining or might have damage to them because the growing season has kind of highlighted the health of the tree for us," explained Wise.
PG&E does do on-foot inspections, but crews say some power lines may not be visible from the ground, especially in more rural areas.
This week they did find spots in San Luis Obispo County of concern including Shandon and Cambria.
After pinpointing trees at risk crews will then drive out to those areas and further assess the trees.
PG&E officials say they do this multiple times a year just to ensure that nothing's changed with the tree’s health. If they see something that is encroaching on the lines, they can make that call to either remove the tree or prune it.
