Portland General Electric is in the midst of its largest powerline upgrade project in recent history, and one PGE employee behind this work is sharing his direct connection.

Located within Beavercreek, Oregon, PGE is upgrading distribution powerlines in the Highland neighborhood, one of the many areas at greater risk for wildfire within PGE's service area. This project is a multi-phase, system hardening project that started in 2022, in support of PGE's wildfire prevention efforts.

Since then, PGE crews have lined Beavercreek's winding roads, with the target of replacing more than 760 wood poles with metal poles, and rewiring 45 miles of power lines with stronger, more resilient power lines by the end 2026.

Combining these two tactics is key to PGE's overall system hardening strategy. While stronger power lines are less likely to be affected by high winds or fallen trees, metal ductile iron poles are flame resistant, allowing crews to restore power faster in the event of a wildfire by simply rewiring instead of replacing an entire damaged pole.

Ian Wilson is a senior design lead for PGE's wildfire mitigation program. His job is to create design plans for system hardening projects similar to the Leland Carus project a responsibility he's passionate about after having to evacuate his Oregon City home during the 2020 Labor Day fires with his wife and newborn.

"I had a 6-month-old baby at home. It was pretty scary and something I'll never forget," said Wilson. "Anything I can do to help prevent that for other families is very meaningful to me."

Ever since that experience, wildfire prevention has never been closer to his heart. Wilson says he's thought about his own family and his community through every step of this project, making sure his neighbors are better protected.

"Having to evacuate my family really hit home and I want to do whatever I can so that doesn't happen to other families," he said.

Wildfire prevention: Leading the charge

Wildfires are a growing national issue, affecting more communities across the U.S. each year. In 2024 in Oregon, nearly 2,000 fires burned almost two million acres, nearly all caused by humans or lightning a 302% increase above the state's 10-year average, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry.

"We're seeing fires in parts of the country we've never seen before," said PGE senior technical manager, Chris Smith. "Hardening our system and increasing resiliency for our customers both far and wide that's a huge driver of what gets me out of bed in the morning."

Smith works on PGE's wildfire prevention team. As a result of increased wildfire risk nationwide, he says PGE has other complimentary wildfire prevention tactics in addition to system hardening like vegetation management and situational awareness.

PGE's service area has more than 2.2 million trees and approximately 12,000 miles of overhead power lines. As a result, PGE conducts routine vegetation management to clear or trim trees, brush, and other vegetation from interfering with powerlines.

The company also has a robust network of 24/7 weather monitoring stations and fire detection cameras in place to support wildfire detection across PGE's service area a part of the country filled with natural beauty that Smith is passionate about protecting.

"Fire affects everything that I both care about and love," said Smith. "PGE cares about our communities and they're making investments to make sure we're safe."

The Leland Carus project is on track to be completed by 2026.

To learn more about wildfire preparedness and PGE's wildfire prevention efforts head to PortlandGeneral.com/wildfire.

Available video:

• Ian Wilson interview - Leland Carus Project Overview

• Chris Smith interview - PGE's Wildfire Mitigation Program

• Iron pole installation B-roll

• Power line installation B-roll

For more video head to PortlandGeneral.com/media-gallery/wildfire-safety