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New Mexico's Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative was hit by a major wildfire in 2022 that started from a U.S. Forest Service prescribed burn.
After the fire, which interrupted electric service to thousands of customers, the co-op secured grants to harden its system against wildfires and recover more quickly from power disruptions.
“They're upgrading their system to a point where probably in another five years, Mora will be one of the most modern co-op systems," says Vince Martinez, CEO of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
As co-ops push for federal wildfire policy solutions, New Mexico also adopted legislation this year that will allow co-ops to borrow up to $15 million from the state to help with natural disaster recovery. The loans can be paid back at zero interest once the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses the co-op.
The new state law and Mora-San Miguel's investments are a just a couple of examples of how co-ops across the country are broadening the resources they devote to combating the threat of wildfires.
“Our cooperatives have been taking measures to reduce the risks of utility-caused wildfires for years," says Shawn Taylor, executive director at the Wyoming Rural Electric Association. “Vegetation management, undergrounding line and employing drones and other technologies."
In 2025, Wyoming's Legislature passed a bill that limits co-ops' liability on wildfire damages if they follow a state-approved wildfire mitigation plan.
In Idaho, a bill cleared the Legislature this year that offers liability limits under a challengeable presumption that a utility is not negligent in starting a wildfire if they met the requirements of state-approved wildfire mitigation plans.
Co-ops in regions not typically linked to wildfires are also paying attention and taking action.
Wildfires are “a growing concern across most of the country, including in North Carolina where managing significant natural disasters, like hurricanes and ice storms, isn't new," says Kristie Aldridge, chief operating officer for North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives.
In 2024, Hurricane Helene left behind some debris in North Carolina that will take years to fully clear and can act as kindling in dry conditions. The storm's lingering impact is one of the reasons why the state's electric co-ops “are drawing on their decades of experience preparing for and responding to other natural disasters and applying it as they consider wildfire mitigation strategies," Aldridge says.
North Carolina's co-ops are also exploring opportunities to partner with Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange to integrate their insights into the planning process.
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