
Electric Outage: 1-844-484-2300
Water Emergency: 541-685-7595
EWEB Main: 541-685-7000
EWEB serves thousands of homes and businesses in heavily forested areas that are at increased risk of wildfire, including the South Hills of Eugene and the McKenzie River Valley. In addition, wildfires can cause direct physical damage to utility infrastructure such as power lines, substations and our hydro generation projects in the McKenzie Valley.
When there is a high risk for a wildfire, we may temporarily shut off power to certain neighborhoods to prevent our electric system from becoming the source of an ignition. As each weather situation is unique, we work closely with other agencies such as Lane County Emergency Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Oregon Department of Forestry, and carefully review a combination of factors when deciding if power must be turned off, including:
We realize this proactive approach of preemptively shutting off power can present challenges, especially for those who live in rural areas and rely on electric pumps for wells. If your power has been shut off, we will restore power as soon as the conditions permit, and crews have inspected the system to confirm it is safe to re-energize power lines.
To help prevent tree-related outages and mitigate wildfire risk, we proactively prune trees to help keep our equipment clear. Crews trim around 300 line miles of vegetation annually to minimize falling trees and branches for ongoing reliability maintenance, with an additional 250 line miles inspected and pruned specifically for fire protection in high-risk areas.
Just as we manage vegetation to keep trees away from power lines, it's important for you to create a line of defense around your property by clearing dead trees and brush away from your property, particularly if you live in the south hills and other heavily forested areas of our community.
When selecting a new tree to plant, follow the "Right Tree, Right Place" approach. By picking the proper species and planting procedure, you can increase public safety, reduce power outages, reduce the need for routine pruning, and promote healthy, beautiful trees.
500 East Fourth Ave.
Eugene, OR 97401
800-841-5871
541-685-7000
Open Monday-Friday
Phone hours: 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Lobby hours: 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.