Photos: PG&E’s Hazard Awareness Warning Center in San Ramon helps detect disasters

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SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Scott Strenfel, director of meteorology and fire science, shows a wind map at the PG&E Hazard Awareness Warning Center (HAWC) in San Ramon, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. The HAWC is staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to monitor a broad range of natural disasters including wildfires, land movement, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and avalanche hazards. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Tucked away in a building in San Ramon is the hub of PG&E’s network that monitors and tracks natural disasters throughout much of California around the clock, assessing their potential for destruction.

The power company recently upgraded the hub, which it calls its Hazard Awareness Warning Center.

The center is staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to monitor and track a broad range of natural disasters, including wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and avalanches.

Through strong partnerships among Pacific Gas and Electric’s internal teams, as well as with the National Weather Service, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and others, staff members share information on the risk of emerging hazards in Northern and Central California within PG&E, and with partner agencies.

Some of the technology consists of a network of high-definition cameras to spot fires, many of which are part of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning testing program. The program has the capability to differentiate wildfire smoke from fog and other false indicators during extremely dry, hot and windy weather, which is invaluable to PG&E analysts and fire agencies.

“I’m trying to utilize the best science possible to make the best decisions possible,” said Scott Strenfel, PG&E’s director of meteorology and fire science at the center.

Senior analysts at the facility use resources from NOAA satellite feeds, a computer-aided dispatch, official agency information feeds and more to monitor for hazards affecting PG&E’s service territory, which stretches from Lake Shasta and the Redding area down to the Grapevine in Southern California.

PG&E built the San Ramon site in 2018 and have made improvements since, especially in light of the many recent deadly wildfires, including the Camp Fire in Paradise, said Angie Gibson, PG&E’s vice-president of emergency preparedness and response.

“It’s exciting. I’ve been with the company for 34 years and emergency management has been my passion for a very long time,” Gibson said. “I feel like I can directly influence how we respond and how we’re prepared.”