By Bob Urban, Senior Manager, ACRT Services
*Editorial Note: The following article appeared in the July/August issue of the UAA Newsline.
Wildland and prairie fires are not just a West Coast phenomenon. These fires pose a risk that not only impact the traditionally viewed West Coast landscapes but landscapes from coast-to-coast. If the right conditions exist—from weather, humidity, and wind speeds to fuel load and ignition points—fire-related events can occur in any part of the country.
Looking back at the past five years, wildland and prairie fires were a real phenomenon everywhere, not just in California but in places like Alaska, Oklahoma, and Florida. In 2016, the largest fire-related event in the U.S. took place in Oklahoma, affecting more than 360,000 acres.
Most of the large fires that occurred in 2018 were located in Northern California, Southern Oregon, Northern Washington, and Northern Montana. But what’s interesting is that if you look between Virginia and Kentucky, several significant events occurred in 2018 that didn’t make the Top 20 chart.
2019 wasn’t as severe as 2018 in terms of fire-related events. We saw many of the typical culprits and places, but many events further east. Texas experienced several events, Oklahoma had a smattering throughout the state, Florida ranked on the list again, and so did the Kentucky-West Virginia border. Mississippi and Alabama were also included on the map.
So how do you prevent these widespread fires from occurring? Communication is the most powerful tool. The following are important, proactive measures that you can take:
- See something, say something. Be aware of your surroundings.
- Know who to contact and in the proper order. Call 911 first.
- Personal safety is your first responsibility. Make sure you’re in a safe space before starting a communication chain.
- Know your fire plan. These are similar to post-storm work plans and are often seen in fire-prone areas.
- Follow instructions.
- Check-in and check-out. Make sure someone knows your whereabouts before and after encountering any possible dangers.
Prepare a Fire Plan and Process
Fire plans and processes are usually similar to storm or hurricane plans. These documents address common hazards associated with each type of event and provide specific instructions regarding tasks and roles during those events. A fire plan is a living document—it should be reviewed yearly and employees should be regularly trained on its information.
You may notice that fire plans and processes emphasize safety. Why? It’s all about personal safety, crew safety, public safety, and the safety of the assets being worked around. Employees from entry-level to management positions should be trained on each organization’s fire plan, including fire prevention, emergency reaction, wildland fire safety basics, and equipment.
We must talk about how to safely navigate a high-fire risk environment by understanding how vehicles, our actions, our equipment, and the relationship between the vegetation and powerlines can all be potential ignition points for wildland fires. It is important to understand and remember that our job is not to fight the fires; our job is to prevent fires from starting in the first place.
Keep Preventative Tools Handy
In fire-prone areas, most field crews will have basic preventative fire tools in their vehicle, such as a water pump/can, a shovel, various axes, and a fire extinguisher. If anyone is working in the wildland landscape, I highly encourage them to have at least 20 pounds worth of fire extinguisher readily available. That could be the difference between stopping an event the moment it starts and a fire turning into an event that burns thousands of acres, including homes.
These tools aren’t free, but certainly a wise investment to consider. Most of these tools are marked as multipurpose, to be used for other tasks on the job, if available. The idea for using these preventative tools is to rob the fire of one of its key elements: fuel.
Remain Vigilant
Understanding potential ignition points is incredibly important and should be part of every employee’s training, including highway vehicle, power tool, and power line fire safety. Think of the “One Less Spark–One Less Wildfire” campaign.
A lot of wildland fires start on highways (e.g., cars and medians catching on fire) and they can spread quickly. The most common ignition points are hot materials coming out of exhaust pipes or tow chains dragging on the road (or similar pieces of metal hanging off a vehicle that create sparks). We should make a conscious effort to ensure that chains are secured properly on vehicles and avoid grass when pulling off to the side of the road.
When it comes to power tool fire safety, chainsaws have spark arrestors for a reason. They are designed to keep hot material from exiting the exhaust port on the saws and, ideally, divert the hot material from making its way to combustible vegetation.
Powerline fire safety should also be taken into consideration. It is important not to allow trees to grow into the lines and to make sure that there isn’t incidental contact while working. Contact with the lines can ignite vegetation. Ignition can occur in numerous forms: a powerline, someone throwing a cigarette out of a moving car, or an escaped campfire. Regardless of a fire’s origins, we must remain vigilant.
Know your capacity. Again, our job is not to fight wildland fires; our job is to prevent them from happening. Our industry shouldn’t have to carry out a direct attack on a wildland fire. If the fire is small and conditions hinder its spread, swift action with a fire extinguisher is appropriate. Ultimately, our job is prevention, prevention, prevention.
Be safe, be aware, and remember: prevention is our job.
With more than 20 years of experience in the utility services industry, ACRT Services Senior Manager Bob Urban has built a wealth of expertise on everything from operations and sales to training and negotiation. He is an ISA-Certified Utility Arborist and attended Paul Smith’s College in New York.
Craig works for Pacific Gas and Electric as a Principal Program Manager in Land Management. His career spans 30 years in the utility industry serving numerous roles. He is an ISA Certified Arborist, Utility Specialist, and hold his TRAQ and is a TCIA Certified TreeCare Safety Professional. Craig has been engaged and involved in the UAA for many years, starting back in 2008. He then wanted more so he ran for UAA President and was elected in 2014. Today, Craig looks back over his 30-year career and wouldn’t change a thing, he’s made life-long friends and considers many as mentors. He also claims he would not be where is in his career if it weren’t for these people, and pledges to pay it forward to support others in their success.
Sam joins the UAA crew with over a decade of non-profit experience behind her. As our Partnership Coordinator, her focused efforts on building relationships with diverse funders include crafting proposals, cultivating connections, and cohesively earning dedicated sponsors to support the sustainability of UAA substantially and empowering our programs. Well equipped with professional skills which include program development, public speaking, proposal writing, donor relations, working with diverse stakeholders, coalition building, and public-facing service. Sam’s educational background includes a BS in Animal Ecology with a minor in Animal Science, and a MA in Philanthropy and Non-profit Development.
Jodie Braskich is an experienced professional in the utility industry with a strong background in supply chain and vegetation management. With over 18 years of industry expertise, Jodie continues to contribute her time and knowledge to the continuous improvement of the professional field of UVM. She has been a member of the UAA since 2007.
Josh Beaver is currently senior vice president of Eocene Environmental Group, a utility vegetation management (UVM) consulting and operations firm. Josh has more than two decades of experience within the UVM industry. He is currently responsible for relationship management and oversight of long-term UVM contracts throughout the United States and Canada. He considers customer and community communication to be vital aspects of his role, and he has a proven record of success working with utilities.
Crystal started her career in the Interior Design space but soon found herself 
Renée is our Member Services Manager. She is available to UAA members for questions on committee assignments, educational opportunities, scholarships, CEU questions, and any other assistance.
Jeff has enjoyed a 32-year career in Utility Vegetation Management. He began his career in 1993 with Holy Cross Energy as a temporary groundman. After receiving full time employment in 1994. He worked his way through the department from climber to foreman and eventually department manager in 2018. He brings a real-world approach to the industry.
Jason is a seasoned utility vegetation management professional with almost 20 years of experience leading data-driven, field-tested programs that prioritize safety, reliability, and operational efficiency. Jason is a forward-thinking leader who integrates emerging technologies to extract insights from complex data, streamline workflows, and drive smarter decision-making across the organization.
C. Troy Ross is the president of vegetation management at ACRT and ACRT Pacific. Shortly after graduating from Hocking College with a degree in Ranger Services and Fish and Wildlife, Ross began his career with ACRT at Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation as a contract utility forester in 1999. Since then, he has advanced through increasingly senior leadership roles, supporting vegetation management programs for a wide range of utility types and organizational structures.
A winner of the David H Nabi Award for dedication and service, Dr. Robert Vanderhoof earned his Ph.D. from the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University in 1995. A veteran natural resource manager, Robert spent 15 years as Florida’s Deer Management Section Chief during which time he coordinated range management activities across Florida’s seven-million-acre wildlife management area system.
Cindy is the Senior Director, Vegetation Management Services and she manages departments responsible for maintaining vegetation in REC’s rights-of-way with the goal of reducing exposure of the electric grid to tree caused outages while encouraging habitat and species diversity. Cindy also has a consulting business, EcoAcumen, LLC that focuses on residential, commercial and government clients.
Kimberly Laing has had an exciting career in the energy industry, gaining valuable experience in various areas for almost 20 years. During her career, she has worked with numerous customers worldwide in a diverse cross-disciplined technical environment. She has extensive experience working with utilities, asset owners, equipment manufacturers, and consultants to facilitate transmission and distribution projects. Kimberly is particularly passionate about Utility Vegetation Management and its vital role in delivering safe and reliable power.
Fallon is a Utility Arborist and Executive Director of the Utility Arborist Association. Prior to his current role he was responsible for leading vegetation management programs across several upper Midwest states on behalf of a large investor-owned utility. He’s also been an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he facilitated the 
Erin Creekmur has been in the UVM industry for over 20 years. After graduating with a Bachelors in Botany from Northern Arizona University she relocated to Northern California to start her professional career. Starting as a consulting utility pre-inspector with Western ECI she quickly moving up to the ranks to Supervisor under the tutelage of folks like Nelson Money. In 2004, Erin joined PG&E as a Quality Assurance Auditor for the VM program. Eventually becoming the Program Manager for the North Coast Division, helping stand up the beginnings of CEMA as the Emergency Drought Response Initiative Lead for the Enhanced Inspection & Mitigation Program, targeting off-cycle hazard trees across the system. In 2015, Erin moved back to her home state of Arizona and took the role of Division Supervisor with Arizona Public Service, managing both transmission and distribution UVM programs out of the Flagstaff area. As part of her role with APS Forestry Fire and Resource Management Department, Erin had responsibility for creating a Hazard Tree Mitigation program. maintaining APS’s ROW Stewardship Accreditation, FERC reporting, and the Transmission Lidar program. In 2021, Erin took a shift in her career and is now Supervising the Customer Construction and Design team for APS, expanding her overall understanding of the Utility industry. Erin continues to maintain her ISA Utility Specialist Certification and TRAQ. She has also completed certifications in both Six Sigma and Lean Sigma Green Belt through accredited universities. In addition to her current service on the UAA Board of Directors, Erin spent the last 6 years as an officer with the Arboretum at Flagstaff Board of Directors. In her free time, you can find Erin in the woods taking pictures of native plants and beautiful western landscapes.
Christopher King serves as Director of Operations at ArborMetrics Solutions (AMS), based in North Carolina. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing operational activities across multiple accounts throughout the Eastern United States. With more than a decade of experience in the utility vegetation management (UVM) industry, Mr. King has held a diverse range of roles, including Groundperson, Foreperson, Contract Forester, Vegetation Management Program Manager, Business Development Manager, and Director of Operations Support.
Matt Goff is a Transmission Vegetation Manager at Georgia Power Company. He lives in Brookhaven, GA with his wife, two daughters, and the family’s two dogs Sam, and Payton. For leisure, he enjoys sports with his family, bird hunting, and salt-water fishing.Matt holds a BSFR from the University of Georgia in Forest Resource Management and he graduated in 1997. He has worked in the vegetation management industry for 26 years. His work experience includes six years as a procurement forester for a forest products manufacturer, and 20 years in the utility vegetation management industry with Georgia Power.
Cody is the Membership Office Coordinator for the Utility Arborist Association, where she supports membership operations with a focus on organization and engagement. She blends her experience in organizing systems, interpreting data, and working closely with people to support both the day-to-day and big-picture needs of the UAA.