May 11, 2025 • 30 mins
Utilities are taking steps to prevent wildfires during the summer and there are several things you can do. Don't fall for the Toll Text Scam. Addressing maternal health disparities.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. This week what
power companies are doing to reduce wildfire risk. This is
wildfire Awareness Month. ODATT and DMV are warning about the
toll text message scam and maternal health disparities. Pacific Power
has taken several steps ahead of the summer wildfire season
(00:25):
to reduce the risk of their equipment starting wildfires. Pacific
Powers Simon Goutierrez joins us on Local Voices to explain
what the company's doing through.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Our wildfire mitigation efforts. Were required to file wildfire mitigation
plan with the State of Oregon every year, and that
plan spells out what we're doing in terms of preparedness,
in terms of updating our system and upgrading our system,
and in terms of our operational practices that guide how
we're operating the system. So our wildfire mitigation efforts are
(00:56):
basically what I like to call like a three legged stool,
rests on situational awareness, operational practices, and strengthening the grid.
So in terms of situational awareness, we have a full
time meteorology staff that track weather patterns and fire season
indicators year round, so they're always, you know, a week
(01:20):
at least ahead of whatever weather's coming. That gives us
the situational awareness to make the best decisions operationally. And
in terms of operational practices, we have a couple of
things that we use as wildfire protection strategies. And first,
we have enhanced safety settings on our equipment. That's when
(01:42):
we turn those on. Our power lines are programmed to
de energize within fractions of a second if there's interference detected,
say something like a tree branch that contacts the limb,
that'll turn off the power until we can get somebody
out there to safely inspect and make sure that it's
safe to turn the power back on. We also utilize
(02:03):
emergency de energizations. If we've got a situation where we've
got a fire burning near our equipment that's threatening to
burn in that direction or get into that either transmission
or distribution corridor, we'll shut off the power to prevent
any additional issues from happening through our equipment and also
to protect first responders that are going to be fighting
(02:25):
the fire. And finally, we have public safety power shut off.
Those are very rare, but we've done a couple of
them as a company. That's where we see a weather pattern,
a weather event developing well ahead of time, something like
a high wind, high temperature, and dry fuels all combined
on a specific day or days. We'll track that very closely,
(02:49):
lean on our meteorologists to inform our decisions, and if
we're in a situation where we feel like we may
need to shut off the power, we'll let our public
safety partners know at about seventy two hours ahead out
of time, and we'll let our customers know about forty
eight hours ahead of time that we're monitoring this situation.
And if we determine that the weather event is reached
(03:09):
it's the worst part of it, we'll make the decision
to turn the power off to prevent anything from happening
in terms of wildfire. So those are our basic operational practices.
Then you get into strengthening the grid or strengthening our system.
We have been upgrading our existing power lines that run
(03:30):
overhead with what's called covered conductor, so there's a plastic
insulation on the outside of the power line that makes
it much less likely that there will be a spark
if you have a tree branch or something like that
connect or contact the power line. And we've done that
throughout our six state system. We've had some recent projects
(03:50):
in the Cave Junction Grants pass areas where we've been
in the Hood River as well, where we've installed that
covered conductor. So that combination of situational awareness, operational practices,
and systems strengthening, that's really the core of our wildfire
prevention practices and that's what we wanted to share with folks.
We unveiled what our meteorologists have put together in terms
(04:13):
of a wildfire season forecast. Just briefly, what they're What
they said is that our wildfire season is developed with
data and knowledge from the National interagency fire Centers Geographic
Area Coordination Centers A lot of people call that the GAK.
Those coordination centers are the official public land agency office
(04:35):
that produce fire potential outlooks, and we base our outlook
on their data and expertise. In terms of this season,
most of the region, according to these analyzes, have received
above normal rainfall during the rainy season. April has been
abnormally dry, but the snowpack is still near to above normal.
The more active phase of fire season is likely to
(04:58):
start on time. The summer month expected to be warmer
and drier than normal a month soon, surges in the
region may occur less often than usual. That will potentially
be the less lightning. Now. The outlook is predicting above
normal significant fire potential east of the Cascades beginning in
July due to large amounts of carryover fine fuels and
(05:20):
brush from previous years in an early offset of warm
and dry weather.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
That's simon good tieras with Pacific Power and details on
what the company is doing to reduce the risk their
equipment could start a wildfire. This is Wildfire Awareness month
and firefighters were asking you to take stamps to prevent
human cause fires. Kristin Babs with Cape Oregon Green joins
us on local Voices. Kristin, how are most wildfires started?
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Well, they're started by people. So when we look back
over the years and we kind of average it out,
people start about seventy over seventy percent of Oregon's wildfires.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
How many fires were there last year in Oregon?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So by our account, and we kind of toss out
the infrastructure related fires though, power lines, railroads and stuff
like that. When it truly gets down to like behavioral
fires that people are responsible for, we count seven hundred
and twenty three fires, and that's on the good side.
We're down sixty fires compared to twenty twenty three, but
(06:24):
overall the acres burned last year we're off the charts.
It was about ninety two thousand acres were attributed to
human cause wild fires.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
What are some of the causes of human related fires?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
So it's interesting year in and year out. It seems
like there's a tie between debris burning and equipment use.
Debris burning usually wins out. Last year we had one
hundred and ninety five of those, and then when it
comes to equipment use, it's kind of a broad category,
but the one thing that makes up a large amount
(06:57):
of those types of fires are vehicle fires or vehicle
laded fires. So that's anything from a hot car or
an idling car parked over tall dry grass and contacts
with a hot catalytic converter. It could be a car
overheating on a steep mountain pass. It could be you know,
throwing carbon sparks out out the exhaust system. So they're
(07:17):
just a number of ways that folks can be driving
down the roadway and throwing things out behind them and
not even realizing that they're sparking wildfires even if they
if you know, if like a vetrigular leases as it's
wheel or the tire, the wheel, the metal in contact
with the roadway sparks wildfires as well as dragging chain.
(07:39):
So lots of things that people can do to kind
of inspect the undercarriage of the car, make sure that
there are no dragging parts like mufflers, et cetera. Make
sure that they tie up and secure those cow chains
so that nothing is dragging on the ground and casting
sparks into the roadside vegetation.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Now lawnmowers can cause fires. How would that happen?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
They sure can, So we want to make sure that people,
you know, keep the keep their gas powered equipment free
of carbon build up, that they are using spark arrests.
And then when it comes to whirling metal blades, you know,
blades in contact with like a rock on your lawn,
(08:19):
just that contact, a whirling metal blade in contact with
a rock can sense sparks into you know, the dry grass,
So there's an opportunity there to just you know, make
sure that you allow gas powered equipment to cool down
before you refuel. Make sure you're cleaning those spark arrestors,
making sure that you know the equipment is clean and
(08:41):
and that you know, like an obvious solution to whirling
metal blades would be to use like plastic line on
a weed trimmer instead of the metal blade. That's another
alternative that could help reduce fires.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
When it gets extremely dry. Is it a good idea
after you've mowed the lawn to go out and take
a look at it a little bit later to make
sure that something you know isn't smoldering or has started
a fire.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yes, it's always good to bat, you know, So first thing,
first things first, I want to make sure that people
are following fire restrictions during fire season. So as you
see those peacock what we commonly refer to as the
peacock signs the fire danger rating boards, you see from
you know, the green low to the blue moderate to
the yellow high to red extreme. As that arrow changes
(09:29):
throughout fire season, the window of opportunity to conduct outdoor
activities starts to shrink. So we want to make sure
that people are following their local fire restrictions. They're going
to be different depending on where you are in the states,
So that would be first and foremost, and you know,
try to conduct mowing activities now, you know, get that
(09:53):
work done in May and in June, but definitely check
back with the restrictions. It's all about the conditions and
not the calendar. If it's windy, if it's you know,
if it's unseasonably hot and it's drying out fuels earlier
than we typically see an Oregon. We just want folks
to take a pause, you know, make sure they're checking
(10:14):
with their local fire departments or their forestry districts and
you know, making sure that they're they're holding off on
activities if they could potentially spark a wildfire.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, chain saws can be another issue, and that's oftentimes
covered in those restrictions from US Forest Service or from
the Oregon Department of Forestry, So that would be something
you'd want to check for as well too.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yes, just make sure that you know when you're conducting
outdoor activities at the right time of year. It's all
about the right tool at the right time. But you know,
make sure that when you're done, go back and check
and make sure that everything is cooled down, everything looks good.
You're monitoring the area where you were working outdoors and
just making sure that we're going to you know, we're
(10:56):
ahead of the game. We're going to prevent wildfires.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
What do you want us to think about as far
as campfires when we're out camping, especially when it's extremely dry.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Again, first thing to do is check the restrictions. So
for somebody living up in Portland where the Northwest conditions
are going to be different, per say, like you know
on the central or east side of Oregon, or even
down in southern Oregon, call ahead to your destination. Make
sure that there are no campfire bands in place. Those
kinds of things changed throughout the summer as well. They
(11:27):
can be put in place or lifted as conditions dictate.
But you know, if you're in a campground, just make
sure that you're keeping your campfire small and you're feeding
them as needed. You're not using huge pieces of wood
and building a great, big bonfire. We want to contain
it to the metal fire ring or a rock ring.
And then same thing for dispersed campers who are out
(11:50):
you know outside of campgrounds, that opportunity will close and
come to a close during fire season. So it's important
to check head with your camping destination to see what
the restrictions are locally. The other thing that I want
to mention too is to monitor. Always stay with the campfire.
(12:11):
You want to be with it from start to finish,
and that goes with any open fire, including debrisburning. So
stay with it from start to finish. And then when
it's time to either you go to bed, when you're
retiring at night, or you're leaving the site, make sure
that you've got you know, a bucket of water on hand,
You've got some fire tools like a shovel, and just
(12:33):
follows Smoky's ever popular message of drowned, stir drown repeat.
A lot of people that I camp with, they think
I'm overdoing it with the water. You want to drown it,
literally drown it, make it look like soup in there,
stirred around, and then kind of feel with your hands.
Just hover over the fire, make sure you don't feel
any heat, and keep the process going until the ashes
(12:54):
and embers are cool to the touch.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Target practice can also be the conset of a fire.
What are the issues to consider there?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
They have been a source of a lot of our
fires in twenty twenty four, and that's all tied to
the conditions. If we're shooting at a target, and it
creates metal fragments. Those hot metal fragments landing in dry
vegetation can spark a fire. Our best advice is to
ask people to willingly stop target shooting afternoon after one o'clock.
(13:22):
And again same thing with powered equipment. Just make sure
that you are there on site that the activity, that
the target shooting activity doesn't allow anything to smolder and ignite.
So if you can hang out on site for like
an hour or so and just make sure that everything
is good, then we'll all be in a better place.
But same thing, I would encourage folks to carry fire
(13:45):
tools with them. You know, have a gallon of water,
have a big gallon jug in your in the back
of your car, have something that you know, some just
rudimentary fire tools, even a fire extinguisher that can help
extinguish anything that would get going in that In that instance,
the last thing that I would do is encourage folks
to shoot into dirt backstops. Avoid all other types of
(14:06):
targets that are out there, metal rock. Your dirt backstop
is the best thing to use for target shooting.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
What are some things that we should do around our
homes to make them more fire safe?
Speaker 3 (14:18):
So In my case, when I think about prevention, it's
all about you know, preparedness around the home and reducing
the risk around the home. So it's important to think
about the structure and how well it is fire adapted,
and then also thinking about the space around the home,
especially the five foot zone around the foundation and then
(14:41):
out to thirty feet and beyond depending on your property size.
So you know, when it comes to embers, they can
fly ahead of a fire a mile or more and
come to rest on the most obvious place, which is
your roof. That is the most vulnerable part of your home.
So I would encourage folks now to clean up the
debris that's on the roof and in the gutters, making
(15:04):
sure that those are clear and that we don't have
any overhanging vegetation over the roof. Trim that back, and
then you know, think about keeping landscape around the home lean,
clean and green, So making sure that you're keeping your
lawn mode to four inches or less. If you can
water it, that's great, but if you can squeak, you know,
(15:25):
to the end of right before fire season, if you
could do one last mow and make sure that you've
got it all nice and short. I don't want to
encourage folks to water their lawn. If water is a
precious resource, so as long as it's kept short, that's
a good thing. And then to think about the shrubs
and the trees around the home, you know, space them out,
make sure they're fire depted types types of plants. It's
(15:48):
also a good idea to make sure that limbs on
trees are prune six to ten feet off of the
ground so that they don't we don't have ladder fuels
that carry fuel or fire on the ground up and
to the trees and up into the canopy.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Does Oregon have a website where people can go to
learn more about this?
Speaker 3 (16:05):
I would love to encourage folks to visit our website.
We're at Keethorgongreen dot org. And what's great about our
website is that it has prevention information there about all
the different types of things that people are using or
doing that can commonly cause wildfires. And then the other
thing I would do is to encourage people to go
(16:28):
to the current conditions page and bookmark that one if
they can, because we link to the organ Department of
Forestries Public Use Restrictions page, and we also link to
the Northwest Coordination Center's large Fire page. Those are good
resources to refer to throughout fire season, just to get
(16:50):
an idea of what they need to do when they're
thinking ahead to the different types of activities that they
want to want to do outside and that might possible
be restricted.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Kristin, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's Kristin
Babs with Keith Oregon Green and tips on how to
prevent starting a fire that turns into a wildfire. Spring
is maintenance time for many homeowners. Jennifer Hotton with Pemco
Insurance joins us on Local Voices with some tips. Jennifer,
the water heater normally just sits there doing its thing.
(17:22):
What should we look for on the water heater?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
When you go to inspect the water heater? There are
a lot of things that you want to look for
because honestly, those water heaters only work for about eight
to twelve years, so many of us could have a
damaged water heater. But when you go to inspect it,
what you're looking for is sediment build up and tank
(17:48):
corroding of some of the rods, or just general issues
with it. If you have a tankless water heater, you
may want to inspect it more more often to ensure
that sediment and debris don't build up, and that can
require more frequent descaling and flushing throughout the year.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Several appliances, washing machines, refrigerators, instant hot water for example,
those all have water lines that go into them. What
should we look for there.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
When you're looking to review your water lines, For one,
you need to understand that that is the main source
of issues within home. Bursts or leaking appliance water supply
lines are the top cause of residential water damage. So
when you're looking to see what's wrong, you just want
(18:43):
to make sure that they're.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Not dripping, there's no damage coming. But while you're looking,
just take the extra step and replace the line with
a stronger steel mesh hose because often those appliances or
items are delivered with kind of weak plastic or rubber
(19:05):
lines and those are very prone to leaking.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Now, some homes have some pumps. Should those be checked.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Some pumps should absolutely be checked, and they should be
checked at least once a year, some more often if
they're getting a whole lot of work. You know, if
they're kind of the workhorses down in the basement and
you have a very wet home, you want to make
sure that you're looking at it regularly. You also want
(19:34):
to make sure that you check when you last replace
the backup battery. Recommendations vary by model, but it is
an important thing to do and consider scheduling an annual
professional service. If you want a DIY it, it's certainly
you're certainly capable of doing it, but make sure you
disconnect the power source before removing the pump to clean
(19:57):
and service it.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
So, if you have a furnace or an air conditioning unit,
what should we consider with those?
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Well, the furnace is like the friendly workhourse of your home,
and it kind of steadily does its job without our
help often. But if you notice your energy bills have
jumped significantly compared to the same period last year, and
your habits haven't changed, or it's making weird noises cycling
on or off, you may want to really take a
(20:26):
look at it and see if your air quality is good.
So you want to definitely change that furnace filter at
least once a season, ideally monthly during the heating season.
Also consider allergy season. When it gets to be allergy season,
those filters can get clogged with all the pollen. If
(20:49):
you have an animal, it definitely needs more changing. Make
sure that you do an annual professional preventative maintenance. I
put mine with spring maintenance. I just you know, it's springtime.
I'm doing spring cleaning, so come close to just tying
it to the spring season.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
That's Jennifer Hotton with pem Co Insurance and tips for
things that homeowners should check around their house during the spring.
Have you received the text message that claims you oh
a toll fee? It's a scam? Chris krab Or the
Oregon DMV joins us on local Voices Chris, this round
of the scam is stepping it up a notch.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Well. These texts have been going around for quite some time,
at least a year now, but every couple of months
they come out, and this one just seems to be
a little bit a little bit more intense. So it's
threatening people with vehicle suspension or legal action which you
might have damage to your credit. So I'm our biggest
fear is that people are going to hear or read
(21:50):
these messages and really be concerned that they're going to
have something some action taken against them. Which is not
true at all.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
ODA doesn't do any toll collection, right.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
That's correct, there's no O. DOT does not have any
tolls on its road.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
What should we do if we receive one of these
text messages?
Speaker 6 (22:06):
It's very easy. You just want to ignore it and
then delete it. I have an iPhone, so I can
delete and report. There's a little button for that, and
it'll send it somewhere magical. We're not interested in collecting
data on this. There's nothing that DMV can do to
stop these scammers. We're more concerned with informing people that
(22:28):
it is a scam and not to click on any links.
We actually have people that are going to our DMV
offices and pulling a ticket and waiting in mind to
talk to somebody about this, and we really don't want
that to happen. This is nothing you need to waste
any time on. Just ignore it, delete it, and block
the number if possible, so that you don't get it again.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
There's still lines of the DMV offices for real ID applicants,
so you don't want to add to that.
Speaker 6 (22:53):
Yeah, you do not want to step in a DMV
office and wait in line to tell someone you got
to text a tolling text scam right now?
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Are you getting many reports about the scam?
Speaker 6 (23:02):
We track it just on the people that call our
customer assistance and report it. It's not huge right now,
but obviously not everyone who gets it is reporting it.
Like for myself, I just delete it. You probably deleted yours.
But yeah, we're getting I would say, dozens of reports
from people.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Anything else you'd like to add.
Speaker 6 (23:23):
Make sure and protect yourself if you get a text
about unpaid tolls. You never want to click on any links.
You never want to provide any information. Always be suspicious
and just know that O DOT and DMB will never
send you a text for an action that you have
not initiated.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Thanks Chris. That's Chris Krab with the Oregon DMV and
details about the toll tech scam that isn't going away.
It's a scam. You can delete the text, do not
click on the link. Maternal health care is important for
mothers and babies, but there's a disparity that makes it
more risky for low income women. Guys are preminentein ques.
(24:00):
Doctor Crystal Kruks joins us on Local Voices, Doctor Crooks,
what's driving the disparities in mental health outcomes and what
can be done to improve care for all others.
Speaker 7 (24:09):
I think what is primarily driving the disparity in health
care outcomes is access to healthcare first and foremost. There
are many barriers, for instance, transportation, time off from work
to get to those appointments. There is also, of course,
(24:32):
the deservedly so mistress in the healthcare system for many
minority groups, including the black community, due to historical mistreatment
by the medical system. And there is also the poorer
outcomes with regards the periinatal problems. Pariinatal means the beginning,
(24:57):
the middle during the actual pregnancy and three months after
the pregnancy is the perinatal period. And there are many
diseases that can affect the pregnancy that patients can have
and that can also lead to increase mobility and mortality.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
What are evidence based practices that reduce preventable deaths and
complications during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
So interventions would include things like for hypertension, remote monitoring
of blood pressures in between actual appointments where they are
seen in person and progress is monitored. Also, for instance,
(25:47):
mental health issues, counseling is very important. One on one
counseling group support screening after birth for spartum depression and anxiety,
which does strike a large number of people. Monitoring for
substance abuse, anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy is important.
(26:13):
There are also community programs and support networks that can
help with addressing primarily the black problems, but for everyone,
the problems with accessing and being taken care of during
and while pregnant.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Now, Black women are three and a half times more
likely to die from a pregnancy related cause than white women.
Why is that and what can be done to prevent it?
Speaker 7 (26:40):
I think for Black women primarily there is the distrust
in the medical society, But I think there is also
the fact that the majority of Black women tend to
come from lower socioeconomic societies, and that limits, for instance,
(27:03):
how much time they can take off of work to
attend appointments. That limits how they can access childcare to
come to the appointments both during and after birth. Transportation
something as simple as transportation, something as simple as the
hours that medical offices are open, because it's primarily the
(27:25):
hours that retail spaces, for instance, are open, so that
limits the people who can be seen during that time.
So there is a bit of a privilege side and
being able to attend the appointments needed, and that is
something that we as a society and we as a
(27:46):
healthcare system are working on.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
What tools and support are being implemented to improve health
outcomes from others.
Speaker 7 (27:55):
I can't speak to everyone, but with Kaiser Permanent for instance,
for mental health, we include one on one therapy, group
counseling classes. There are also digital self care apps. Kaiser
Permanente has also created videos that feature on members and
(28:16):
clinicians that are supposed to educate new and expecting parents,
reduce the stigma of mental health issues, teach symptoms that
may be a cause for concern, and empower members to
access support, care and community resources. For instance, hemorrhage is
also a big factor in pregnancy related debts, and Kaiser
(28:40):
Permanente has ANEMIAM management protocols in place. They assess and
respond to blood loss by developing a standardized way to
measure and intervene quickly, supporting vaginal birds because C sections
are a higher risk of bleeding dan vaginal boots.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Is there anything else you'd like to add that I
didn't ask.
Speaker 7 (29:04):
You about, especially for black women, but for all women
or assigned females at BOOT who plan on getting pregnant.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of preconception counseling because that
will help set the standard for a hopefully healthy and
(29:24):
smooth delivery, and the importance of feeling seen and heard,
because that way it would be someone that you can
develop that trust with and be able to fully express
your fears and concerns.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Doctor Crooks, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's
doctor Crystal Crooks from Kaiser Permanente Northwest discussing the disparities
that make it more risky for low income women to
have children and what can be done about it. Thanks
for listening to Local Voices. I'm Brad Boord. You can
hear past episodes on the iHeartRadio app under the podcast tab.
Local Voices is a public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio.
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. This week what
power companies are doing to reduce wildfire risk. This is
wildfire Awareness Month. ODATT and DMV are warning about the
toll text message scam and maternal health disparities. Pacific Power
has taken several steps ahead of the summer wildfire season
(00:25):
to reduce the risk of their equipment starting wildfires. Pacific
Powers Simon Goutierrez joins us on Local Voices to explain
what the company's doing through.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Our wildfire mitigation efforts. Were required to file wildfire mitigation
plan with the State of Oregon every year, and that
plan spells out what we're doing in terms of preparedness,
in terms of updating our system and upgrading our system,
and in terms of our operational practices that guide how
we're operating the system. So our wildfire mitigation efforts are
(00:56):
basically what I like to call like a three legged stool,
rests on situational awareness, operational practices, and strengthening the grid.
So in terms of situational awareness, we have a full
time meteorology staff that track weather patterns and fire season
indicators year round, so they're always, you know, a week
(01:20):
at least ahead of whatever weather's coming. That gives us
the situational awareness to make the best decisions operationally. And
in terms of operational practices, we have a couple of
things that we use as wildfire protection strategies. And first,
we have enhanced safety settings on our equipment. That's when
(01:42):
we turn those on. Our power lines are programmed to
de energize within fractions of a second if there's interference detected,
say something like a tree branch that contacts the limb,
that'll turn off the power until we can get somebody
out there to safely inspect and make sure that it's
safe to turn the power back on. We also utilize
(02:03):
emergency de energizations. If we've got a situation where we've
got a fire burning near our equipment that's threatening to
burn in that direction or get into that either transmission
or distribution corridor, we'll shut off the power to prevent
any additional issues from happening through our equipment and also
to protect first responders that are going to be fighting
(02:25):
the fire. And finally, we have public safety power shut off.
Those are very rare, but we've done a couple of
them as a company. That's where we see a weather pattern,
a weather event developing well ahead of time, something like
a high wind, high temperature, and dry fuels all combined
on a specific day or days. We'll track that very closely,
(02:49):
lean on our meteorologists to inform our decisions, and if
we're in a situation where we feel like we may
need to shut off the power, we'll let our public
safety partners know at about seventy two hours ahead out
of time, and we'll let our customers know about forty
eight hours ahead of time that we're monitoring this situation.
And if we determine that the weather event is reached
(03:09):
it's the worst part of it, we'll make the decision
to turn the power off to prevent anything from happening
in terms of wildfire. So those are our basic operational practices.
Then you get into strengthening the grid or strengthening our system.
We have been upgrading our existing power lines that run
(03:30):
overhead with what's called covered conductor, so there's a plastic
insulation on the outside of the power line that makes
it much less likely that there will be a spark
if you have a tree branch or something like that
connect or contact the power line. And we've done that
throughout our six state system. We've had some recent projects
(03:50):
in the Cave Junction Grants pass areas where we've been
in the Hood River as well, where we've installed that
covered conductor. So that combination of situational awareness, operational practices,
and systems strengthening, that's really the core of our wildfire
prevention practices and that's what we wanted to share with folks.
We unveiled what our meteorologists have put together in terms
(04:13):
of a wildfire season forecast. Just briefly, what they're What
they said is that our wildfire season is developed with
data and knowledge from the National interagency fire Centers Geographic
Area Coordination Centers A lot of people call that the GAK.
Those coordination centers are the official public land agency office
(04:35):
that produce fire potential outlooks, and we base our outlook
on their data and expertise. In terms of this season,
most of the region, according to these analyzes, have received
above normal rainfall during the rainy season. April has been
abnormally dry, but the snowpack is still near to above normal.
The more active phase of fire season is likely to
(04:58):
start on time. The summer month expected to be warmer
and drier than normal a month soon, surges in the
region may occur less often than usual. That will potentially
be the less lightning. Now. The outlook is predicting above
normal significant fire potential east of the Cascades beginning in
July due to large amounts of carryover fine fuels and
(05:20):
brush from previous years in an early offset of warm
and dry weather.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
That's simon good tieras with Pacific Power and details on
what the company is doing to reduce the risk their
equipment could start a wildfire. This is Wildfire Awareness month
and firefighters were asking you to take stamps to prevent
human cause fires. Kristin Babs with Cape Oregon Green joins
us on local Voices. Kristin, how are most wildfires started?
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Well, they're started by people. So when we look back
over the years and we kind of average it out,
people start about seventy over seventy percent of Oregon's wildfires.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
How many fires were there last year in Oregon?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So by our account, and we kind of toss out
the infrastructure related fires though, power lines, railroads and stuff
like that. When it truly gets down to like behavioral
fires that people are responsible for, we count seven hundred
and twenty three fires, and that's on the good side.
We're down sixty fires compared to twenty twenty three, but
(06:24):
overall the acres burned last year we're off the charts.
It was about ninety two thousand acres were attributed to
human cause wild fires.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
What are some of the causes of human related fires?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
So it's interesting year in and year out. It seems
like there's a tie between debris burning and equipment use.
Debris burning usually wins out. Last year we had one
hundred and ninety five of those, and then when it
comes to equipment use, it's kind of a broad category,
but the one thing that makes up a large amount
(06:57):
of those types of fires are vehicle fires or vehicle
laded fires. So that's anything from a hot car or
an idling car parked over tall dry grass and contacts
with a hot catalytic converter. It could be a car
overheating on a steep mountain pass. It could be you know,
throwing carbon sparks out out the exhaust system. So they're
(07:17):
just a number of ways that folks can be driving
down the roadway and throwing things out behind them and
not even realizing that they're sparking wildfires even if they
if you know, if like a vetrigular leases as it's
wheel or the tire, the wheel, the metal in contact
with the roadway sparks wildfires as well as dragging chain.
(07:39):
So lots of things that people can do to kind
of inspect the undercarriage of the car, make sure that
there are no dragging parts like mufflers, et cetera. Make
sure that they tie up and secure those cow chains
so that nothing is dragging on the ground and casting
sparks into the roadside vegetation.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Now lawnmowers can cause fires. How would that happen?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
They sure can, So we want to make sure that people,
you know, keep the keep their gas powered equipment free
of carbon build up, that they are using spark arrests.
And then when it comes to whirling metal blades, you know,
blades in contact with like a rock on your lawn,
(08:19):
just that contact, a whirling metal blade in contact with
a rock can sense sparks into you know, the dry grass,
So there's an opportunity there to just you know, make
sure that you allow gas powered equipment to cool down
before you refuel. Make sure you're cleaning those spark arrestors,
making sure that you know the equipment is clean and
(08:41):
and that you know, like an obvious solution to whirling
metal blades would be to use like plastic line on
a weed trimmer instead of the metal blade. That's another
alternative that could help reduce fires.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
When it gets extremely dry. Is it a good idea
after you've mowed the lawn to go out and take
a look at it a little bit later to make
sure that something you know isn't smoldering or has started
a fire.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yes, it's always good to bat, you know, So first thing,
first things first, I want to make sure that people
are following fire restrictions during fire season. So as you
see those peacock what we commonly refer to as the
peacock signs the fire danger rating boards, you see from
you know, the green low to the blue moderate to
the yellow high to red extreme. As that arrow changes
(09:29):
throughout fire season, the window of opportunity to conduct outdoor
activities starts to shrink. So we want to make sure
that people are following their local fire restrictions. They're going
to be different depending on where you are in the states,
So that would be first and foremost, and you know,
try to conduct mowing activities now, you know, get that
(09:53):
work done in May and in June, but definitely check
back with the restrictions. It's all about the conditions and
not the calendar. If it's windy, if it's you know,
if it's unseasonably hot and it's drying out fuels earlier
than we typically see an Oregon. We just want folks
to take a pause, you know, make sure they're checking
(10:14):
with their local fire departments or their forestry districts and
you know, making sure that they're they're holding off on
activities if they could potentially spark a wildfire.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, chain saws can be another issue, and that's oftentimes
covered in those restrictions from US Forest Service or from
the Oregon Department of Forestry, So that would be something
you'd want to check for as well too.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yes, just make sure that you know when you're conducting
outdoor activities at the right time of year. It's all
about the right tool at the right time. But you know,
make sure that when you're done, go back and check
and make sure that everything is cooled down, everything looks good.
You're monitoring the area where you were working outdoors and
just making sure that we're going to you know, we're
(10:56):
ahead of the game. We're going to prevent wildfires.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
What do you want us to think about as far
as campfires when we're out camping, especially when it's extremely dry.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Again, first thing to do is check the restrictions. So
for somebody living up in Portland where the Northwest conditions
are going to be different, per say, like you know
on the central or east side of Oregon, or even
down in southern Oregon, call ahead to your destination. Make
sure that there are no campfire bands in place. Those
kinds of things changed throughout the summer as well. They
(11:27):
can be put in place or lifted as conditions dictate.
But you know, if you're in a campground, just make
sure that you're keeping your campfire small and you're feeding
them as needed. You're not using huge pieces of wood
and building a great, big bonfire. We want to contain
it to the metal fire ring or a rock ring.
And then same thing for dispersed campers who are out
(11:50):
you know outside of campgrounds, that opportunity will close and
come to a close during fire season. So it's important
to check head with your camping destination to see what
the restrictions are locally. The other thing that I want
to mention too is to monitor. Always stay with the campfire.
(12:11):
You want to be with it from start to finish,
and that goes with any open fire, including debrisburning. So
stay with it from start to finish. And then when
it's time to either you go to bed, when you're
retiring at night, or you're leaving the site, make sure
that you've got you know, a bucket of water on hand,
You've got some fire tools like a shovel, and just
(12:33):
follows Smoky's ever popular message of drowned, stir drown repeat.
A lot of people that I camp with, they think
I'm overdoing it with the water. You want to drown it,
literally drown it, make it look like soup in there,
stirred around, and then kind of feel with your hands.
Just hover over the fire, make sure you don't feel
any heat, and keep the process going until the ashes
(12:54):
and embers are cool to the touch.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Target practice can also be the conset of a fire.
What are the issues to consider there?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
They have been a source of a lot of our
fires in twenty twenty four, and that's all tied to
the conditions. If we're shooting at a target, and it
creates metal fragments. Those hot metal fragments landing in dry
vegetation can spark a fire. Our best advice is to
ask people to willingly stop target shooting afternoon after one o'clock.
(13:22):
And again same thing with powered equipment. Just make sure
that you are there on site that the activity, that
the target shooting activity doesn't allow anything to smolder and ignite.
So if you can hang out on site for like
an hour or so and just make sure that everything
is good, then we'll all be in a better place.
But same thing, I would encourage folks to carry fire
(13:45):
tools with them. You know, have a gallon of water,
have a big gallon jug in your in the back
of your car, have something that you know, some just
rudimentary fire tools, even a fire extinguisher that can help
extinguish anything that would get going in that In that instance,
the last thing that I would do is encourage folks
to shoot into dirt backstops. Avoid all other types of
(14:06):
targets that are out there, metal rock. Your dirt backstop
is the best thing to use for target shooting.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
What are some things that we should do around our
homes to make them more fire safe?
Speaker 3 (14:18):
So In my case, when I think about prevention, it's
all about you know, preparedness around the home and reducing
the risk around the home. So it's important to think
about the structure and how well it is fire adapted,
and then also thinking about the space around the home,
especially the five foot zone around the foundation and then
(14:41):
out to thirty feet and beyond depending on your property size.
So you know, when it comes to embers, they can
fly ahead of a fire a mile or more and
come to rest on the most obvious place, which is
your roof. That is the most vulnerable part of your home.
So I would encourage folks now to clean up the
debris that's on the roof and in the gutters, making
(15:04):
sure that those are clear and that we don't have
any overhanging vegetation over the roof. Trim that back, and
then you know, think about keeping landscape around the home lean,
clean and green, So making sure that you're keeping your
lawn mode to four inches or less. If you can
water it, that's great, but if you can squeak, you know,
(15:25):
to the end of right before fire season, if you
could do one last mow and make sure that you've
got it all nice and short. I don't want to
encourage folks to water their lawn. If water is a
precious resource, so as long as it's kept short, that's
a good thing. And then to think about the shrubs
and the trees around the home, you know, space them out,
make sure they're fire depted types types of plants. It's
(15:48):
also a good idea to make sure that limbs on
trees are prune six to ten feet off of the
ground so that they don't we don't have ladder fuels
that carry fuel or fire on the ground up and
to the trees and up into the canopy.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Does Oregon have a website where people can go to
learn more about this?
Speaker 3 (16:05):
I would love to encourage folks to visit our website.
We're at Keethorgongreen dot org. And what's great about our
website is that it has prevention information there about all
the different types of things that people are using or
doing that can commonly cause wildfires. And then the other
thing I would do is to encourage people to go
(16:28):
to the current conditions page and bookmark that one if
they can, because we link to the organ Department of
Forestries Public Use Restrictions page, and we also link to
the Northwest Coordination Center's large Fire page. Those are good
resources to refer to throughout fire season, just to get
(16:50):
an idea of what they need to do when they're
thinking ahead to the different types of activities that they
want to want to do outside and that might possible
be restricted.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Kristin, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's Kristin
Babs with Keith Oregon Green and tips on how to
prevent starting a fire that turns into a wildfire. Spring
is maintenance time for many homeowners. Jennifer Hotton with Pemco
Insurance joins us on Local Voices with some tips. Jennifer,
the water heater normally just sits there doing its thing.
(17:22):
What should we look for on the water heater?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
When you go to inspect the water heater? There are
a lot of things that you want to look for
because honestly, those water heaters only work for about eight
to twelve years, so many of us could have a
damaged water heater. But when you go to inspect it,
what you're looking for is sediment build up and tank
(17:48):
corroding of some of the rods, or just general issues
with it. If you have a tankless water heater, you
may want to inspect it more more often to ensure
that sediment and debris don't build up, and that can
require more frequent descaling and flushing throughout the year.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Several appliances, washing machines, refrigerators, instant hot water for example,
those all have water lines that go into them. What
should we look for there.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
When you're looking to review your water lines, For one,
you need to understand that that is the main source
of issues within home. Bursts or leaking appliance water supply
lines are the top cause of residential water damage. So
when you're looking to see what's wrong, you just want
(18:43):
to make sure that they're.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Not dripping, there's no damage coming. But while you're looking,
just take the extra step and replace the line with
a stronger steel mesh hose because often those appliances or
items are delivered with kind of weak plastic or rubber
(19:05):
lines and those are very prone to leaking.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Now, some homes have some pumps. Should those be checked.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Some pumps should absolutely be checked, and they should be
checked at least once a year, some more often if
they're getting a whole lot of work. You know, if
they're kind of the workhorses down in the basement and
you have a very wet home, you want to make
sure that you're looking at it regularly. You also want
(19:34):
to make sure that you check when you last replace
the backup battery. Recommendations vary by model, but it is
an important thing to do and consider scheduling an annual
professional service. If you want a DIY it, it's certainly
you're certainly capable of doing it, but make sure you
disconnect the power source before removing the pump to clean
(19:57):
and service it.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
So, if you have a furnace or an air conditioning unit,
what should we consider with those?
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Well, the furnace is like the friendly workhourse of your home,
and it kind of steadily does its job without our
help often. But if you notice your energy bills have
jumped significantly compared to the same period last year, and
your habits haven't changed, or it's making weird noises cycling
on or off, you may want to really take a
(20:26):
look at it and see if your air quality is good.
So you want to definitely change that furnace filter at
least once a season, ideally monthly during the heating season.
Also consider allergy season. When it gets to be allergy season,
those filters can get clogged with all the pollen. If
(20:49):
you have an animal, it definitely needs more changing. Make
sure that you do an annual professional preventative maintenance. I
put mine with spring maintenance. I just you know, it's springtime.
I'm doing spring cleaning, so come close to just tying
it to the spring season.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
That's Jennifer Hotton with pem Co Insurance and tips for
things that homeowners should check around their house during the spring.
Have you received the text message that claims you oh
a toll fee? It's a scam? Chris krab Or the
Oregon DMV joins us on local Voices Chris, this round
of the scam is stepping it up a notch.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Well. These texts have been going around for quite some time,
at least a year now, but every couple of months
they come out, and this one just seems to be
a little bit a little bit more intense. So it's
threatening people with vehicle suspension or legal action which you
might have damage to your credit. So I'm our biggest
fear is that people are going to hear or read
(21:50):
these messages and really be concerned that they're going to
have something some action taken against them. Which is not
true at all.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
ODA doesn't do any toll collection, right.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
That's correct, there's no O. DOT does not have any
tolls on its road.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
What should we do if we receive one of these
text messages?
Speaker 6 (22:06):
It's very easy. You just want to ignore it and
then delete it. I have an iPhone, so I can
delete and report. There's a little button for that, and
it'll send it somewhere magical. We're not interested in collecting
data on this. There's nothing that DMV can do to
stop these scammers. We're more concerned with informing people that
(22:28):
it is a scam and not to click on any links.
We actually have people that are going to our DMV
offices and pulling a ticket and waiting in mind to
talk to somebody about this, and we really don't want
that to happen. This is nothing you need to waste
any time on. Just ignore it, delete it, and block
the number if possible, so that you don't get it again.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
There's still lines of the DMV offices for real ID applicants,
so you don't want to add to that.
Speaker 6 (22:53):
Yeah, you do not want to step in a DMV
office and wait in line to tell someone you got
to text a tolling text scam right now?
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Are you getting many reports about the scam?
Speaker 6 (23:02):
We track it just on the people that call our
customer assistance and report it. It's not huge right now,
but obviously not everyone who gets it is reporting it.
Like for myself, I just delete it. You probably deleted yours.
But yeah, we're getting I would say, dozens of reports
from people.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Anything else you'd like to add.
Speaker 6 (23:23):
Make sure and protect yourself if you get a text
about unpaid tolls. You never want to click on any links.
You never want to provide any information. Always be suspicious
and just know that O DOT and DMB will never
send you a text for an action that you have
not initiated.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Thanks Chris. That's Chris Krab with the Oregon DMV and
details about the toll tech scam that isn't going away.
It's a scam. You can delete the text, do not
click on the link. Maternal health care is important for
mothers and babies, but there's a disparity that makes it
more risky for low income women. Guys are preminentein ques.
(24:00):
Doctor Crystal Kruks joins us on Local Voices, Doctor Crooks,
what's driving the disparities in mental health outcomes and what
can be done to improve care for all others.
Speaker 7 (24:09):
I think what is primarily driving the disparity in health
care outcomes is access to healthcare first and foremost. There
are many barriers, for instance, transportation, time off from work
to get to those appointments. There is also, of course,
(24:32):
the deservedly so mistress in the healthcare system for many
minority groups, including the black community, due to historical mistreatment
by the medical system. And there is also the poorer
outcomes with regards the periinatal problems. Pariinatal means the beginning,
(24:57):
the middle during the actual pregnancy and three months after
the pregnancy is the perinatal period. And there are many
diseases that can affect the pregnancy that patients can have
and that can also lead to increase mobility and mortality.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
What are evidence based practices that reduce preventable deaths and
complications during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
So interventions would include things like for hypertension, remote monitoring
of blood pressures in between actual appointments where they are
seen in person and progress is monitored. Also, for instance,
(25:47):
mental health issues, counseling is very important. One on one
counseling group support screening after birth for spartum depression and anxiety,
which does strike a large number of people. Monitoring for
substance abuse, anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy is important.
(26:13):
There are also community programs and support networks that can
help with addressing primarily the black problems, but for everyone,
the problems with accessing and being taken care of during
and while pregnant.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Now, Black women are three and a half times more
likely to die from a pregnancy related cause than white women.
Why is that and what can be done to prevent it?
Speaker 7 (26:40):
I think for Black women primarily there is the distrust
in the medical society, But I think there is also
the fact that the majority of Black women tend to
come from lower socioeconomic societies, and that limits, for instance,
(27:03):
how much time they can take off of work to
attend appointments. That limits how they can access childcare to
come to the appointments both during and after birth. Transportation
something as simple as transportation, something as simple as the
hours that medical offices are open, because it's primarily the
(27:25):
hours that retail spaces, for instance, are open, so that
limits the people who can be seen during that time.
So there is a bit of a privilege side and
being able to attend the appointments needed, and that is
something that we as a society and we as a
(27:46):
healthcare system are working on.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
What tools and support are being implemented to improve health
outcomes from others.
Speaker 7 (27:55):
I can't speak to everyone, but with Kaiser Permanent for instance,
for mental health, we include one on one therapy, group
counseling classes. There are also digital self care apps. Kaiser
Permanente has also created videos that feature on members and
(28:16):
clinicians that are supposed to educate new and expecting parents,
reduce the stigma of mental health issues, teach symptoms that
may be a cause for concern, and empower members to
access support, care and community resources. For instance, hemorrhage is
also a big factor in pregnancy related debts, and Kaiser
(28:40):
Permanente has ANEMIAM management protocols in place. They assess and
respond to blood loss by developing a standardized way to
measure and intervene quickly, supporting vaginal birds because C sections
are a higher risk of bleeding dan vaginal boots.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Is there anything else you'd like to add that I
didn't ask.
Speaker 7 (29:04):
You about, especially for black women, but for all women
or assigned females at BOOT who plan on getting pregnant.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of preconception counseling because that
will help set the standard for a hopefully healthy and
(29:24):
smooth delivery, and the importance of feeling seen and heard,
because that way it would be someone that you can
develop that trust with and be able to fully express
your fears and concerns.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Doctor Crooks, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's
doctor Crystal Crooks from Kaiser Permanente Northwest discussing the disparities
that make it more risky for low income women to
have children and what can be done about it. Thanks
for listening to Local Voices. I'm Brad Boord. You can
hear past episodes on the iHeartRadio app under the podcast tab.
Local Voices is a public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio.
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