SoCal Edison crews in OC install markers to make power lines more visible to fire aircraft

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (KABC) -- Southern California Edison helicopter pilots and linemen in Orange County on Thursday installed colorful plastic marker balls to make suspended power lines more visible to fire aircraft.

It was an aerial ballet in the skies over Yorba Linda: precision work done at altitude to place the sphere-shaped objects on the transmission lines.

When the operation is complete, it will make the transmission lines much more visible to pilots flying at low altitudes in the area.

"Seeing a power line from the ground is very different from seeing it from the air," said Torbjorn Corell, the lead pilot for SoCal Edison about the dangers that power lines pose for pilots operating in their vicinity.

"We have factors such as sun angles, optical illusions, background terrain," Corell said. "You can have sky terrain; you can have that golden grass that kills the vertical illusion of identifying a power line."

The operation is being paid for by SoCal Edison, after the request to install the markers was made by CalFire. The concern is that one of the "heli-hydrants," that water dropping helicopters can use to refill, is only about 1,000 feet away from power transmission lines in the area.

"They're very hard to see, especially in a smoky environment," said CalFire forestry pilot Wayne Krader, who said that power lines, in his opinion, are among the top dangers posed to pilots flying at low altitudes.

"Power lines are a very present hazard in a firefighting environment, because we're constantly flying low."

Southern California Edison started its drone program in 2019 and said crews have been able to reduce the risk of a wildfire by 75% to 80%.

SoCal Edison conducts these operations on average once or twice per month. It takes hours of preparation, but once in the air, with coordinated efforts between the pilot, the linemen and personnel on the ground, it takes one to two minutes to install each ball on the line.

"It's ultimate teamwork; we can't do the work without each other," said Corell. "These guys are tight, and it takes a while to have a specialized team to reach this level of precision for this type of work."