HEA Taking Precautions as Funny River Fire Grows

by Joe Gallagher

May 24, 2014 – 4:00am –  As the Funny River Fire continues to expand, Homer Electric Association (HEA) is taking precautions to protect its transmission lines and continue to provide power to its members.

Friday evening, the fire was very close to two transmission lines that are located between Kasilof and Soldotna, just west of the fire and east of the Sterling Highway.

As a precautionary step, HEA de-energized the transmission line closest to the fire perimeter on Thursday. Prior to the action, HEA reconfigured its electrical system so de-energizing the line had no impact on service to HEA members.

The second transmission line is located closer to the Sterling Highway and further from the fire. However, on Friday evening the fire advanced quickly and it was necessary to de-energize a section of that line between Kasilof and Soldotna. The proactive decision to de-energize the line before the fire potentially burned into it was made in consultation with the Incident Management Team.

The work required a brief ten minute outage at 3:01 am on Saturday that affected the City of Soldotna, Funny River Road, K-Beach Road from Soldotna around to Helmsman Avenue, and the Sterling Highway in Soldotna to just past Skyview High School.

The switching work went smoothly and power was restored to all the affected areas by 3:11 am.

Fire conditions will determine future decisions and HEA will continue to work cooperatively with the Incident Management Team.

HEA will provide updates on its web site, Facebook page, and local media outlets while fire suppression efforts are underway.

For additional information, please call Joe Gallagher at 907-283-2324 jgallagher@homerelectric.com