Round Mountain – As a sequence of powerful storms pummeled northern California and Nevada, IBEW 1245 members hit the ground running to mitigate damage and keep the power flowing. Relentless rain and fierce winds combined to flood streets, strand cars, and knock down trees and power lines in the first major storm of the season.
In Red Bluff, Highway 99 was closed as were several schools. In other parts of the Greater Bay Area, rain broke historic records going back as far as 1902. The National Weather Service warned that the string of “atmospheric rivers” and “bomb cyclones” threatened to cause unprecedented damage.
PG&E Crews worked tirelessly – many for five and six days straight – under grueling weather conditions to repair fallen lines and restore power to families across IBEW 1245’s territory.
“Wind and rain is not a good mixture for keeping your power lines in the air,” shared Electric Crew Foreman Julio Angulo. Working out of the Redding Division, Angulo led a crew in Montgomery Creek at a 500 KV Substation for PG&E. “There’s a couple of floaters – that’s when the wire is not on the insulator anymore due to a strike from a tree or snow…and one of the crossarms was broken, so we replaced that,” he said. In addition to the weather, accessing land and poles can be challenging. Though many poles are by the roadside, others are further inland. “We have a lot of land up here, so the power has to go over hills and rocks and mountains and creeks,” added Angulo.
IBEW 1245 Business Representative Steve Lange stated “I am constantly impressed by the work ethic and pride our members have in the unfavorable conditions Mother Nature delivers. Let’s face it. In these circumstances, it can be relentless to keep the lights on.” Lange represents IBEW 1245 members across the North Valley, including PG&E T200/T300 and Clerical out of Table Mountain, Burney, Chico, Manton, Red Bluff, Redding, Rodgers Flat, Willows, Paradise, Quincy, Canyon Dam. Lange added, “Today I watched a crew finish a tag, and immediately ask Julio ‘Where’s our next one?’”
Asked about the difference a Union makes, brother Angulo – an eighteen-year member of IBEW 1245 – stated “What’s good about the Union? It is an umbrella. It’s your umbrella for when you are in this region. They’re protecting our jobs and making sure we’re safe. And you feel good working for the union because you have that umbrella of other people taking care of you and others, we call ’em Union Brothers and Sisters because that’s exactly what they are. Everybody’s watching out for each other.”
- Eileen Purcell, IBEW 1245 Sr. Advisor; Photos by John Storey
PG&E crews fix a down wire and replace a cross arm after a show storm in Round Mountain, Calif. on November 22, 2024.
Redding Division Electric Crew Foreman Julio Angulo.