Bend area has experienced 14 recent power outages due to Pacific Power’s ‘enhanced safety settings’ to curb wildfire risk
Barney Lerten
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Pacific Power’s Bend service area has experienced 14 outages since early May due to the use of “enhanced safety settings,” which make power lines more sensitive and are aimed at reducing the risk of wildfire, the utility’s affected customers were told.
Here’s the text of an email they received:
Outage Information
The safety of our customers and communities is our top priority. We wanted to provide an update to our Bend area customers on recent outages related to wildfire safety and prevention.
What We’re Seeing:There have been 14 outages in our Bend service area since the start of May 2025 caused by the use of enhanced safety settings for wildfire prevention. There was also one outage caused by an emergency de-energization due to an active wildfire.
Preventing Wildfire:As wildfire risk increases, some customers have been placed on enhanced safety settings.
These settings will de-energize power lines within fractions of a second if they are contacted by debris, wildlife, or strong winds. This greatly reduces the likelihood of equipment emitting sparks that could cause a wildfire.
Since these outages are driven by an event, advanced notification is not possible.
Power will remain off until our crews are able to visually inspect the line and ensure it’s safe to re-energize.
Customers received an email or letter when they were placed on these settings to provide them with more information about what to expect.
Customers on these settings have an increased potential for outages and these outages may last longer than typical outages as our field crews work to patrol the lines before restoring power.
More information can be found at PacificPower.net/Settings.
We have used these settings in the Bend service area for the last several years. This year, more customers have been placed on settings due to increased risk levels in the area as identified by the company’s meteorology team. We realize that power outages are a hardship for our customers, and we appreciate your patience as we work to keep communities safe during wildfire season.
What You Can Do:We encourage all customers to be prepared for outages during wildfire season and year-round:
Update your contact information and communications preferences so we can reach you: PacificPower.net/Account
Have a plan for your family or business and make an emergency kit to meet your needs: PacificPower.net/Prepare
Consider backup power options, especially if you have medical needs that require electricity: PacificPower.net/BackupPower
Want to chat or need additional help? Call our customer service team to speak directly with one of our team members, 24/7: 1-888-221-7070