OAKLAND
PG&E expands scope of Wildfire Safety Center to encompass, ensure readiness for any natural disaster and emergency
Opened in 2018, Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) Wildfire Safety Operations Center (WSOC) has successfully served as the company’s 24/7 hub for monitoring wildfire risks and for wildfire coordination, prevention and response efforts across Northern and Central California.
On Monday, PG&E announced a new name and an expanded scope to more effectively monitor potential natural disasters and the impact to their assets to ensure the continued safety of customers and the hometowns they serve. The WSOC is now the Hazard Awareness & Warning Center, or HAWC.
Why? Without sacrificing any of the facility’s deep expertise related to wildfires, the expanded scope will allow the HAWC to serve as the source for reliable, real-time situational awareness of a broader range of natural disasters, emergencies and other events throughout PG&E’s service area. That includes enabling enterprise-level communications to ensure the appropriate level of response as well as providing a focal point of understanding potentials risks to our gas and electric infrastructure.
From its inception, the WSOC monitored wildfires. Now the HAWC monitors a broader range of natural disasters including wildfires, land movement (such as debris flows and slope failures), earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and avalanche hazards. Through strong partnerships among PG&E’s internal teams as well as with external entities such as the National Weather Service, Cal OES and others, the awareness of additional hazards will increase into the future.
When it opened in May 2018, the WSOC was located in PG&E’s San Francisco headquarters. The center provided a birds-eye view of high-fire threat areas within PG&E’s service territory, which encompass about 50 percent of the company’s 70,000-square-mile service area. The center also assimilated weather model information, satellite images and other enhanced, real-time data for experts tracking wildfire conditions and threats.
PG&E’s new headquarters will be in Oakland, and the HAWC now operates in San Ramon through the headquarters transition. At that state-of-the-art facility, analysts track incoming information and rely on an active incident dashboard showing fire incidents, the locations of PG&E facilities and support crews, satellite imagery, detailed outage maps and more.
One example of what’s available to operators in the HAWC are direct feeds from more than 500 high-definition cameras in high fire-threat areas. Of these cameras, 46 are included in a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning testing program where the capability to differentiate wildfire smoke from fog and other false indicators during extremely dry, hot, and windy weather is invaluable to PG&E analysts and fire agencies. Images from the ALERTWildfire system are viewable online at www.alertwildfire.org.
—Submitted
WITTER SPRINGS
Silver Foundation kicks off Gene Paleno Memorial Fund
The passing of inaugural Lake County Silver Foundation Board member and longtime Record-Bee columnist Gene Paleno left a hole in the hearts of the community and his Foundation Board. In his honor, the Foundation is forming a memorial fund.
To kick off the Gene Paleno Memorial Fund, the Silver Foundation is hosting an estate sale on February 5 and 6 at Gene’s home: 10755 Bachelor Valley Road in Witter Springs. The doors will open at 9 am on both days, closing at 5 pm.
A prolific writer, Gene’s books were popular in and outside of Lake County. Locally, his “History of Lake County” was an instant hit. More recently Gene published the never-before told story, “The Porter Conspiracy.” He was just beginning to market the beautiful hard cover book when he passed on.
The Porter Conspiracy and others such as “Cleo Chronicles” were left to the Silver Foundation, along with many of Gene’s possessions including furniture, household goods, and various other items.
Foundation President Jim Steele said, “The Silver Foundation Board decided to create a memorial fund in honor of the man who never hesitated to support his beloved Lake County community.”
“I loved working with Gene, he was kind and generous – especially when it came to seniors and pets. The memorial fund is a perfect way to honor his legacy,” said Board Member Claudine Pedroncelli.
The funds raised from the estate sale will be used to support Lake County seniors.
All are invited to drop in. Anyone wishing to volunteer, please call 707-295-6198.
—Submitted
