TDPUD provides help to Valley Fire utilities

The Truckee Donner Public Utility District joined efforts to help restore power to the Geysers geothermal power plant near Middletown and repair an electric distribution line destroyed by the Valley Fire.

TDPUD responded to an emergency request for help issued by the Northern California Power Agency, which owns a geothermal power plant in the area.

The Valley Fire, started on Sept. 12, swept through Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties, engulfing more than 76,000 acres and destroying nearly 2,000 buildings, leaving many residents homeless in its wake. The fire knocked out power poles, effluent pipeline, steam field pipes, conduits and control circuitry, pump stations, fiber optic lines and more, according to NCPA.

TDPUD has mutual-aid agreements with many utilities.

A TDPUD crew of five employees and equipment, along with numerous other utilities from around the state, aided NCPA in recovery efforts. The Truckee crew — working with other crews from Healdsburg, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Lodi, Roseville, Redding, and Alameda — helped repair a 21KV distribution power line and rebuilding more than 50 power poles to restore electricity.