Risk assessment for wildfire occurrence in high-voltage power line corridors by using remote-sensing techniques: a case study in Hubei Province, China

Abstract

ABSTRACTWildfires are a significant problem for power line maintenance that can lead to widespread power outages and economic loss in China. Remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies and their derived applications are effective tools for power line surveillance and disaster prevention. Using multi-source data and remote-sensing techniques, a risk assessment of wildfire occurrence in high-voltage power line corridors in Hubei Province, China, is presented in this study. Both natural and human causes are considered in the assessment, including a traditional Chinese spring custom. Historical ignition points along power line corridors in Hubei Province that occurred from 2009 to 2014 were collected as training data to create a quantitative analysis. Next, a logistic regression model was applied, and ignition probability maps were produced for power lines. Several wildfire accidents that occurred in 2015 were used as validation data to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The experimental results indicated that the drought conditions significantly influenced wildfires as natural cause, and human activities play important roles in causing wildfires during specific time periods. The effectiveness and robustness of our method is thereby demonstrated, and our method can be used to provide valuable suggestions for wildfire management for the electrical department in Hubei Province.