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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- With the Garnet Fire creeping person to captious infrastructure, Pacific Gas and Electric is sending specialized crews to the beforehand lines to support its equipment.
"They're mostly made up of erstwhile firefighters oregon those that person acquisition successful the firefighting arena," PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith said.
He told Action News astir the enactment of the Safety and Infrastructure Protection Team.
"They dainty our instrumentality with occurrence retardant and assorted different systems to effort and support it," Smith said.
Video provided by PG&E shows unit members focused connected the Balch Camp on the North Fork Kings River. The hydroelectric task determination features a dam, respective reservoirs, and powerhouses.
Much of it is surrounded by evacuation orders.
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"Power is thing that we don't instrumentality lightly," U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman said. "Folks request their aerial conditioners, they request their h2o pumps ... So it's astir arsenic important arsenic the homes themselves for america to support this infrastructure safe."
Freeman says the Garnet is truthful ample that antithetic areas bring circumstantial challenges and concerns.
Miles northbound of Balch Camp is PG&E's Helms Powerhouse.
Last year, Action News got uncommon entree inside, wherever we saw however they make energy utilizing the Courtright and Wishon reservoirs. It takes teams of radical moving heavy underground.
"It's captious infrastructure due to the fact that yet it is what helps supply powerfulness each passim the authorities of California," Smith said.
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Fresno County officials enactment Helms nether an evacuation bid past week.
With 1,700 local, state, and national firefighters successful the area, PG&E has proactively de-energized immoderate of its lines.
"There is redundancy wherever successful the abbreviated word we're capable to support homes and businesses and different areas energized done different circuits, but that's not a semipermanent solution," Smith said.
With the Garnet Fire raging for the 11th day, PG&E's specialized crews volition stay successful place.
"We're going to proceed to person to beryllium up determination for astatine slightest different 2 oregon 3 weeks based connected the accusation that we're hearing."
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