As extreme weather and wildfire risk continue to threaten utility infrastructure across North America, many grid operators are rethinking how they identify and manage ignition hazards. Drones are increasingly central to that shift, enabling utilities to move beyond reactive vegetation management toward predictive, data-driven risk mitigation strategies. In this guest post, Jeremiah Karpowicz of Transmission and Distribution at Clarion Energy Group.explains how this transition is redefining how aerial data, automation, and operational planning come together to support grid resilience and community safety. DRONELIFE does not pay or accept payment for guest posts.
How drones are rewriting the wildfire mitigation playbook for utilities
by Jeremiah Karpowicz, Content Director for Transmission and Distribution at Clarion Energy Group.
Multiple reports and resources have detailed why North American utilities are turning to drones as essential tools to help solve challenges with extreme weather and decaying infrastructure. The risks associated with not being proactive around such efforts are more evident than ever after California was hit by the Pacific Palisades wildfires in January of 2025. The wildfires left millions without power and caused upwards of $50 billion in economic damage.
The depth and scope of this destruction shows just how vulnerable utility infrastructure is to extreme weather. Drones can help utilities define their grid resilience strategies to directly address these vulnerabilities, but what does a transition from a reactive vegetation clearance method to a predictive one actually look like? And what tools and technology are available to enable these strategies and applications?
These are just a few of the questions that will be answered during the Wildfire Risk Mitigation & Vegetation Management Symposium. Taking place at DTECH on February 4th, 2026 in San Diego, CA, this workshop will break down what it means to create a foundation of success for modern wildfire risk mitigation based on how utilities of all types are using drone technology.
How Utilities are Using Aerial Data to Master Wildfire Risk
In the utility sector, the chasm between a good idea and full-scale deployment is where most drone programs end up living. Bridging that gap isn’t about hardware or technology, but about people and process. Several of the largest utilities in the United States have outlined how to connect all of these dots, developing operational blueprints that transform raw aerial data into actionable risk mitigation. These use cases prove that automation and high-frequency drone inspections can be scaled across thousands of miles of line without breaking a budget.
Out in California, PG&E has utilized a programmatic drone inspection program to completely change various inspection and maintenance processes. By leveraging high-resolution imagery and advanced data analytics, they have improved the accuracy and safety of inspections across transmission, distribution, and substation assets. Their integration of aerial inspection and workflow automation has allowed them to enhance reliability and improve asset performance in a measurable way.
Elsewhere in the western region of the United States, utilities like the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) have created replicable roadmaps for building wildfire resilience under real-world constraints. Using drones and other tool for remote inspection and monitoring of critical infrastructure, they’ve been able to detail what it means to mitigate risk with a continuous, granular view of ignition threats. These tools have empowered their inspection teams to take strategic, defensible steps before fires ignite without breaking the budget.
Xcel Energy’s multi-year grid modernization journey has taken various twists and turns, but the throughline is a commitment to tools that will both boost both operational efficiency and community safety. Their deployment of a consolidated ADMS/OMS has done both by transforming outage management and wildfire risk reduction through advanced capabilities like Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration (FLISR) and targeted fire mitigation measures.
Representatives from all of these utilities will present these specifics at the symposium, but experts from NYPA, SDG&E, Ameren, and Southern California Edison will also lead a transparent discussion on the operational realities of their UAS programs. However, these programs are only as successful as the technologies that power them, which is why understanding the nuances of the current tech landscape is just as essential.
Tools and Strategies for Wildfire Management
We’ve long talked about how drones and other new pieces of technology shouldn’t be framed as a silver bulletbut instead as components of a multi-layered risk management ecosystem. Using this approach, drone program advocates can address bottom-line realities like total cost of ownership and the operational friction of integration in a language that resonates with both executive stakeholders and field operators. That said, doing so requires a clear understanding of the major technology categories currently shaping wildfire mitigation.
Evaluating remote sensing systems, airborne techniques, predictive analytics platforms, advanced weather monitoring, and specialized vegetation management software through a comparative lens is an essential part of any drone adoption process. It’s why the symposium will feature presentations and a discussion that analyze general adoption costs alongside the fundamental advantages and limitations of each. These details will allow utilities to establish frameworks to determine which solutions best align with their specific mitigation programs, operational needs, and resource constraints.
By focusing on concrete action items, utilities can enhance their technological maturity and ensure that data captured in the air effectively informs decisions on the ground. This process turns raw imagery into actionable intelligence in a way that allows drone programs to scale, although real success with wildfire mitigation and vegetation management is about more than technology.
Resilience Powered by People and Enabled by Technology
As tempting as it is to want or believe that a new tool like a drone is going to solve all of your problems, technology is only as effective as the strategy it’s plugged into. And both need people to understand what it means to enable success. It’s why connecting with others who have done exactly that for utilities of all types is so essential.
While the technical specifics will always vary based on an organization’s unique grid footprint or internal team structure, bigger lessons around efficiencies and cost reductions for utilities when adopting and using drones to improve wildfire resilience are universal. What’s unique in the utility space is that stakeholders are open to sharing these details in ways that simply don’t happen in other industries. As recent wildfire damage has shown, doing so isn’t just a matter of streamlining operations or reducing costs, but also saving lives for teams and communities across the nation.
Learn more about the Wildfire Risk Mitigation & Vegetation Management Symposium that will take place at DTECH on February 4th, 2026 in San Diego, CA.
Jeremiah Karpowicz is the Content Director for Transmission and Distribution at Clarion Energy Group, driving the conference development for DTECH events as well as reporting on the energy industry via Factor This. With over a decade of experience as a content strategist and digital leader, he possesses a rare talent for building industry connections that wouldn’t otherwise materialize. He’s passionate about using content and conversations to expand DTECH’s events and publications to new audiences and greater impact.
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