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PG&E Funds Local Fire Safe Council Projects, Joins CAL FIRE in Urging Residents to Prevent, Prepare for Wildfires

05/04/2015

‘Wildfire Awareness Week’ is May 3-9

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In response to one of the most severe droughts on record, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today it is providing nearly $2 million in funding to local Fire Safe Councils across its service area for fuel reduction projects and public education to help prevent dangerous wildfires. PG&E is also joining CAL FIRE during California Wildfire Awareness Week in urging residents to prevent and prepare for wildfires. ‘Wildfire Awareness Week’ is observed every year during the first week of May.

With the early-April snowpack water content standing at only five percent of normal, most of California is at risk for devastating wildfires. That’s why PG&E is supporting CAL FIRE’s public education campaigns, “One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire” and “Ready, Set, Go.”

“At PG&E, we pride ourselves on being the public’s partner in safety. We are honored to team with firefighters on the important work they do to help educate Californians about the dangers of wildfires and how to prevent and prepare for them. We encourage all of our customers and employees to focus on fire safety now and throughout the entire year,” said Barry Anderson, vice president of emergency preparedness and operations for PG&E.

“California’s wildfire activity has been well above normal all year long and as we reach the traditional summer months that trend is not likely to go away,” said Daniel Berlant, CAL FIRE chief of public information. “That’s why it is critical that all residents are prepared for wildfires by maintaining 100 feet of Defensible Space around their homes, and that all Californians take steps to prevent sparking a wildfire.”

In 2014, PG&E worked with 38 local Fire Safe Councils to fund fire breaks in and around communities, improve emergency access roads and help low-income residents clear defensible space around their properties to protect them from fire. PG&E is proud to continue working closely with local Fire Safe Councils across northern and central California to ensure that the communities it serves are prepared for wildfires.

Since the beginning of this year, CAL FIRE already has responded to more than 1,000 wildfires scorching more than 4,100 acres. That’s twice as many than in an average year. Last year, CAL FIRE responded to 5,600 fires which burned 90,000 acres. According to CAL FIRE, more than 90 percent of all wildfires in California are sparked by people. PG&E is urging its employees and customers to use caution when operating outdoor equipment, burning debris or campfires, and to properly maintain and tow vehicles safely. PG&E will help spread the “One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire” message on its customer billing envelopes this summer.

In addition to its already extensive vegetation management program, PG&E is conducting additional aerial and ground inspections around its power lines to help ensure that trees or limbs do not come into contact with equipment. The utility is deploying hundreds of tree workers to mitigate fire risks across its service area.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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Source: PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Joe Molica, 415-973-5930

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