In the past two months alone, the flaming carcasses of electrocuted birds have ignited at least three wildfires in Colorado. While the phenomenon sounds straight out of a cartoon, it's actually more common than you'd think, experts said. It's a big enough problem that electric utility companies brainstorm efforts to mitigate bird electrocution, said Taylor Barnes, a Fort Collins-based biologist. Xcel Energy was the first utility in the country to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to proactively address issues involving birds and power line structures. The plan included developing a schedule for retrofitting high-risk electrical equipment with roosting deterrents or bird flight diverters. Understanding that infrastructure can be attractive to birds for roosting and building nests, Xcel designed their facilities to meet industry standards that prevent or reduce the likelihood of avian incidents. Normally, a bird in the path of fire would fly away, but an electrocuted bird is often incapacitated immediately and falls to the ground. Birds can sit on one wire and there’s no problem, but if a bird touches a second wire, it opens a path of electricity right through the bird's body, with a resulting zap that can send the bird up in flames. There are ways to design power poles and their accompanying structures to make them less susceptible to bird electrocution, Barnes said, by ensuring that enough space is left between energized components to allow birds to sit without touching two electrical components at once.
Electrocuted Birds Are Bursting Into Flames and Starting Wildfires
In the past two months alone, the flaming carcasses of electrocuted birds have ignited at least three wildfires in Colorado. While the phenomenon sounds straight out of a cartoon, it's actually more common than you'd think, experts said. It's a big enough problem that electric utility companies brainstorm efforts to mitigate bird electrocution, said Taylor Barnes, a Fort Collins-based biologist. Xcel Energy was the first utility in the country to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to proactively address issues involving birds and power line structures. The plan included developing a schedule for retrofitting high-risk electrical equipment with roosting deterrents or bird flight diverters. Understanding that infrastructure can be attractive to birds for roosting and building nests, Xcel designed their facilities to meet industry standards that prevent or reduce the likelihood of avian incidents. Normally, a bird in the path of fire would fly away, but an electrocuted bird is often incapacitated immediately and falls to the ground. Birds can sit on one wire and there’s no problem, but if a bird touches a second wire, it opens a path of electricity right through the bird's body, with a resulting zap that can send the bird up in flames. There are ways to design power poles and their accompanying structures to make them less susceptible to bird electrocution, Barnes said, by ensuring that enough space is left between energized components to allow birds to sit without touching two electrical components at once.