PG&E conducting aerial fire detection patrols to spot wildfires before they spread

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is conducting daily aerial fire detection patrols across thousands of miles of its service area.

Seven planes will patrol the area late afternoon until evening when wildfires are most likely to begin.

With fixed-wing aircrafts, fire spotters will operate along these routes:

• Redding to Auburn in the Northern Sierra
• Auburn to Sonora in the Central Sierra
• Sonora to Porterville in the Southern Sierra
• Redding to Humboldt to Lake County
• Vacaville to Solvang near the coast
• Redding to Hoopa to McArthur (Siskiyou County and northeastern Shasta County)
• Mendocino County

Last year, PG&E patrols identified a total of 209 fires, 10 of which were first reports. PG&E operates the patrols because of the scale of tree mortality and the significant increase of fire risk in California.

The patrols began on June 1 and will run until October 31 or later, depending upon conditions.