Item Number: {{item.number}}
City Council / Board of Directors
Consent Calendar
Meeting of: June 17, 2025
Submitted By:
Brenda Hampton, Director of Electric Utility Services
Subject:
Wildfire Mitigation Plan for the City of Victorville Municipal Utility Services Recommendation:
No action is required at this time. The VMUS 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan is being presented to the City Council to receive and file.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Strategic Plan Goal:
This item contributes to Victorville’s Strategic Plan Goal B - Public Safety. VMUS prepares this plan to ensure the safety of the Victorville community by minimizing the risk of wildfires around its service territories.
Background
In 2016, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 1028 (stats. 2016), which required publicly owned utilities (POUs) to identify additional wildfire mitigation measures that the POU could take if the POU governing board first found that its overhead electric lines and equipment posed a significant risk of causing a catastrophic wildfire. SB 1028 required that the POU governing board (City Council) must base this determination on “historical fires and local conditions,” and must consult with local fire departments and other entities with responsibilities for the control of wildfires within the relevant area. These requirements were specified in the Public Utilities Code Section 8387.
In 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) completed the development of the statewide Fire Threat Map that designates areas of the state at an elevated risk of electric line-ignited wildfires. Governor Brown signed SB 901 (stats. 2018), which addressed a wide range of issues relating to wildfire prevention, response, and recovery.
SB 901 substantially revised the Public Utilities Code Section 8387, eliminating the prior 4 1
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process established by SB 1028 and instead making it mandatory for all POUs (regardless of size or wildfire risk) to develop a wildfire mitigation plan. Pursuant to the amended Section 8387, all POUs were to present their initial wildfire mitigation plan to its governing board prior to January 1, 2020, and annually thereafter. The City Council adopted the initial Victorville Municipal Utility Services (VMUS) Wildfire Mitigation Plan (plan) at the November 19, 2019, regular city council meeting.
In 2019, two new bills (SB 1054 and SB 111) made additional major reforms relating to wildfires. As part of these reforms, SB 111 created a new state agency, the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board (WSAB). SB 1054 requires that all POUs must submit their wildfire mitigation plans to WSAB by July 1 of each year beginning in 2020. WSAB reviews the POU plans and provides comments and advisory opinions on the content and sufficiency of the plans.
WSAB has since adopted the Advisory Opinion for the 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plans of Electric Publicly Owned Utilities and Rural Electric Cooperatives (Guidance Advisory Opinion) on December 4, 2024, in response to the POU’s 2024 wildfire mitigation plan submittals. The Guidance and Advisory Opinion offers recommendations to the POU community to achieve the most effective and appropriate wildfire mitigation measures and strategies for their service territories and customers.
Based on WSAB’s recommendations, VMUS presented the adopted 2024 Wildfire Mitigation Plan to Council for adoption as normal. Going forward, VMUS will use this Wildfire Mitigation Plan as a foundational document and submit the Plan to WSAB with a supplemental letter describing the utility’s low-wildfire risk and any small revisions to their Plan. Should any substantive changes be needed, a revision log will be submitted with the Plan to WSAB after it has been adopted by Council. This recommendation was attributable to VMUS' not owning or controlling any overhead electric facilities in a High Fire Threat District (HFTD) and to VMUS’s system being completely underground with zero wildfire threats causing outages or ignitions.
Discussion:
The Wildfire Mitigation Plan for 2025 has had no significant changes. The Metrics Table has been updated to document the utility's weekly inspections of the system and record any deficiencies identified. VMUS will submit a supplemental letter to WSAB describing the unchanged status of the WMP. VMUS will continue to evaluate the wildfire risk to the electric distribution system and will make changes as needed.
As VMUS’ electric distribution system remains underground in conduit and vaults; the risk of powerline-ignited wildfires is minimal. These characteristics, along with VMUS’ small service area, create a relatively low likelihood of seeing or causing a catastrophic wildfire.
The utility remains in a low-risk fire threat zone and annually reviews department procedures and operations to ensure low wildfire risk. VMUS’ overarching goal is to provide safe, reliable, and economic electric service to its service territory and VMUS’ Wildfire Mitigation Plan memorializes those efforts. For these reasons, staff is presenting for your review, the Victorville Municipal Utility Services (“VMUS”) Wildfire Mitigation Plan. 4 1
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Staff are available for any questions you may have.
Attachments: A. VMUS Wildfire Mitigation Plan
B. VMUS Letter to WSAB