DMEA Enacts Fire Prevention Mode
Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) is taking proactive steps to reduce wildfire risk by enacting fire prevention mode in response to elevated fire danger across portions of its service territory.
"Safety and reliability are always our top priorities," said DMEA’s Chief Operations Officer Cody Carver. "We appreciate our members' patience and understanding as we take these precautionary measures to help protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure during wildfire season."
Under fire prevention mode, DMEA limits the use of automated and remotely controlled electrical equipment and relies on manual inspections and hands-on work by operations personnel. While these precautions significantly reduce fire risk, they may also result in longer outage restoration times when outages occur.
"Our wildfire mitigation procedures can extend the length of power outages," added Carver. "Under normal operations, we can reconnect much of our equipment remotely. During fire prevention mode, our crews must patrol the line and visually inspect equipment before restoration. It's a slower process, but those additional steps help ensure we restore power safely while reducing fire risk for our communities."
DMEA coordinates closely with local emergency management officials and land management agencies to monitor conditions. The cooperative also uses tools such as the Colorado Wildfire Risk Viewer, weather forecasts, and National Weather Service Red Flag Warnings to guide operational decisions.
Once fire conditions improve and risk levels return to acceptable thresholds, DMEA will resume standard operating procedures.
DMEA encourages members to report outages or unusual activity near power lines immediately. A phone call can help line crews locate issues faster and minimize downtime.
Members are encouraged to:
- Stay clear of downed power lines or damaged electrical equipment.
- Call DMEA at 877-687-3632 to report outages or hazards.
- Visit DMEA's online outage map for real-time outage information. For real-time outage updates, please visit DMEA’s outage map online.
- Learn more information about local alerts, preparedness, and DMEA's fire mitigation at dmea.com/wildfire.
