Electricity Today T&D Magazine

If you wanted to create a recipe for disaster, the beginning of the 2021 wildfire season would be a good place to start. Nearly 90% of the western U.S. is suffering through extreme drought. The snowpack set new low levels there as well. A record-breaking heatwave steamrolled the Pacific Northwest with extreme temperatures hitting 116 °F in Portland. Mix all of this together, and you get a tinderbox ready to explode.
The last decade has been brutal as wildfires have raged across the West, Southwest, and Southern states. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 2021 is shaping up to...

Many occupations pose risks to workers, but few match the dangers that linemen face daily. Linemen play a critical role in maintaining and restoring the power grid, often working in extreme weather conditions, at significant heights, and around high-voltage electrical systems. Their work is essential to modern life, yet it comes with life-threatening hazards.

Statistics highlight the dangers of lineman work. The fatality rate for lineworkers is nearly four times higher than the national average for all occupations. Each year, an average of 26 linemen lose their lives due to work-related injuries. Additionally, linemen experience a non-fatal injury rate of...