Palo Alto utilities commission adopts $15.1 million wildfire mitigation plan, advances Foothills undergrounding

Palo Alto Utilities Advisory Commission voted unanimously to accept the citywildfire mitigation plan and direct staff to implement it and file the plan with the wildfire safety advisory board.

The plan, presented by Assistant Director of Electric Terry Crowley, lays out operational changes, vegetation management targets and a multi-million-dollar undergrounding project in the Foothills aimed at reducing the risk of utility-caused wildfires. "The intent of this plan is to mitigate wildfires that are caused by utilities," Crowley told the commission.

The nut graf: Commissioners were asked to approve an annual plan required by state wildfire rules and to authorize continued funding and implementation of Foothills undergrounding and other mitigation measures. Staff said the program is already underway and that the city has not caused a utility wildfire in recent…