Rocky Mountain Power to underground 35 miles of power lines to prevent wildfires
(WO) – Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) is undertaking a $2.5 billion project to bury power lines to prevent wildfires across six states, according to Fox 13 Salt Lake City.
In Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, approximately 35 miles of power lines will be relocated underground. The initiative, which has already been implemented in areas like Park City and Millcreek, will start its next phase in Big Cottonwood Canyon next week.
In addition to burying power lines underground, RMP plans to apply protective coatings to some lines to prevent sparks and has installed 480 weather stations for continuous monitoring and risk modeling.
Community support has been strong, despite the project's challenges, recognizing the benefits for wildfire mitigation and improved winter infrastructure, as power outages often occur when trees fall on power lines.
This story was originally reported by Fox 13 Salt Lake City.
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