Wildfire Mitigation Plan

Tacoma Power is committed to the safe and reliable delivery of electric power to its customers. In keeping with Tacoma Public Utilities’ mission to deliver clean, reliable services essential to quality of life, Tacoma Power prepares response plans to natural and human-caused emergencies like windstorms, snowstorms, floods, earthquakes, accidents, and wildfires.

The frequency and severity of large-scale wildfires in the western United States has been increasing over the last decade. The temperate rainforests west of the Cascade Mountains have historically had limited wildfire activity, but with warmer temperatures, reduced snowpack, and drought, the risk of large-scale wildfires is anticipated to almost double by the middle of this century.

Recognizing the increasing threat of wildfires, in 2023 the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1032 that requires all Washington State electric utilities prepare a wildfire mitigation plan (WMP) by October 31, 2024, and update that plan a minimum of every three years.

This WMP identifies roles and responsibilities, risk drivers, prevention strategies, community outreach and public awareness programs, restoration strategies, and metrics to track plan performance and continuing performance key indicators.

The plan documents and builds on efforts Tacoma Power has already started to mitigate wildfire risk, including proactively engaging with our peer utilities and emergency service providers, enhancing our distribution system protection, and developing crew practices that minimize the risk of initiating a wildfire.