Wildland fires ignited by avian electrocutions

Abstract

Uncontrolled wildfires are occurring with increasing frequency across western North America due to a combination of wildfire suppression, climate change, impacts from mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae), alterations in range composition by nonnative grasses, and human population growth in fire-prone landscapes. A poorly studied mechanism of wildland fire ignitions occurs when a bird perched on an overhead power line is electrocuted, its plumage ignites, and the burning bird falls into and ignites dry vegetation. Avian-caused ignitions have been occasionally documented, but not spatially analyzed in the contiguous United States. We hypothesized that spatial analyses could demonstrate specific regions where ignitions from avian electrocutions occur most frequently. To test our hypothesis, we compared public reports of wildland fires ignited by bird electrocutions to Environmental Protection Agency ecoregions.We found reports of 44 wildland fires ignited by avian electrocutions in the contiguous U.S. from January 2014 to December 2018. The Mediterranean California ecoregion had the highest density of avian-caused fires. It would be prudent for electric utilities in the Mediterranean California ecoregion in the U.S., and in fire-prone landscapes globally, to develop fire mitigation plans that include modifying power poles to reduce risk of avian electrocutions and resulting wildfires.

Identifying priority mitigation areas for human–osprey conflict

“…We also do not know the exact effect of being in these areas to the birds themselves. While records of osprey electrocutions remain infrequent (e.g., ospreys comprised <1% of confirmed raptor electrocutions in the United States between 1986–1996 and 3.8% between 2000–2015; Harness and Wilson 2001, Kagen 2016), there is little documentation on how other aspects related to these structures contribute to osprey mortality, such as collisions with overhead wires or mortality from nest fires. Finally, the narrow distribution of risk suggests that more localized risk models (e.g., models for a specific coastal or lake‐side city or watershed) may be beneficial.…”

Avian Electrocutions on Power Lines in Kazakhstan and Russia

“…The timing of the discovery of avian electrocutions in Russia was nearly concurrent with that of similar events elsewhere. For example, electrocutions were sporadically reported in Russia and in the United States in the early 1900s, but widespread observations did not begin to be recorded until the 1970s in Russia (Arais & Staltmanis, 1976, 1987), Europe and the United States (Olendorff, 1972; Boeker & Nickerson, 1975; Ferrer, 2012). The initiation of electrocution mitigation in Russia was also consistent with similar efforts elsewhere, with the first suggested solutions published in the 1980s in Russia (Formozov, 1981), and the 1970s in the United States (Miller et al, 1975; Olendorff et al ., 1981).…”

“…For example, Guil et al (2017) determined that 2.4% of wildfires in Spain from 2000-2012 were caused by avian electrocutions. Dwyer et al (2019a) identified wildfires resulting from avian electrocutions in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, and Barnes et al (2022) correlated bird-caused wildfires with fire-prone landscapes. Numerous authors (Guil et al , 2017; Dwyer et al , 2019a; Barnes et al, 2022) have suggested that retrofitting power lines to prevent avian electrocutions could reduce the occurrence of wildfires, a hypothesis supported by Fenster et al (2021), who documented a statistically significant decline in wildfires attributable to avian electrocutions after retrofitting measures were implemented.…”

“…Dwyer et al (2019a) identified wildfires resulting from avian electrocutions in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, and Barnes et al (2022) correlated bird-caused wildfires with fire-prone landscapes. Numerous authors (Guil et al , 2017; Dwyer et al , 2019a; Barnes et al, 2022) have suggested that retrofitting power lines to prevent avian electrocutions could reduce the occurrence of wildfires, a hypothesis supported by Fenster et al (2021), who documented a statistically significant decline in wildfires attributable to avian electrocutions after retrofitting measures were implemented. Kolnegari et al (2020a) found that in 2018, 3.6% of avian electrocutions resulted in wildfires in Iran.…”

Crowd‐sourced reporting of birds nesting on power lines in Iran

“…For example, in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, avian electrocutions regularly kill species of conservation concern (Demeter et al 2018, Slater et al 2020, Kolnegari et al 2020 b , Dwyer and Mojica 2021). Electrocutions not only kill the animal involved (Dwyer 2006), but can also cause power outages and arcing, creating reliability and fire‐risk concerns (Guil et al 2018, Dwyer et al 2019, Kolnegari et al 2020 b , Barnes et al 2022). Avian nesting on power lines can lead to electrocutions, equipment damage, fires, and power outages when nests or nesting birds contact energized components and create dangerous alternate paths for the flow of electricity (Avian Power Line Interaction Committee 2006, Ferrer 2012, Kolnegari et al 2019).…”