Wildfire plans and tree clearing in Oregon: the PUC and OAR 860-024-0016
What the Oregon Public Utility Commission says about electric utility wildfire mitigation plans under Senate Bill 762, who files them, how it audits vegetation work, and the minimum clearances written in OAR 860-024-0016.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It restates the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) pages on wildfire mitigation and on vegetation management, the PUC's list of filed plans dated May 5, 2025, and the text of Oregon Administrative Rule 860-024-0016, all read on October 8, 2026. The comparison of every region is on the guide to utility wildfire plans and tree clearing.
Who files plans
The PUC's list says Senate Bill 762 of 2021 requires both investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities to operate under risk-based wildfire protection plans. The investor-owned utilities send their plans to the PUC every year for review and approval. The consumer-owned utilities send copies once their own governing body has approved them, and those are filed under docket RO 14. The list shows three investor-owned utilities with dockets: Idaho Power (UM 2209), Portland General Electric (UM 2208) and PacifiCorp. Its status columns show the Idaho Power and Portland General Electric plans for 2025 as filed on December 31, 2024, the PacifiCorp update for 2025 as filed on April 30, 2025, and each utility's plans for 2022, 2023 and 2024 as approved. The same list links the latest plans of electric cooperatives, people's utility boards and municipal utilities by name. The PUC's wildfire page also lists the PacifiCorp plan as docket UM 2207, while the May 2025 list shows UM 2007, so the two PUC documents differ on that one number.
How the PUC checks vegetation work
The PUC fact sheet on its role in vegetation management says every electric utility in Oregon must follow PUC vegetation rules. It says PUC staff document and report probable violations so the utility can correct them, evaluate the vegetation programs of investor-owned utilities each year, and inspect consumer-owned utilities at least every three years as part of National Electrical Safety Code reviews. It states that Oregon and California are the only states with specific minimum vegetation clearance requirements, and that Oregon is the only known state where commission staff audit vegetation programs proactively instead of only answering complaints. If the PUC finds a utility acted unsafely or unreasonably, it may exclude related costs from customer rates. The sheet says the rules do not address dead or hazardous trees outside the utility right-of-way, and that the PUC does not set a utility's annual vegetation budget.
Minimum clearances in the rule
OAR 860-024-0016 says each operator must keep a vegetation management program and records, and that its clearances are minimums set for public and worker safety, service continuity and fire prevention. If clearances are not kept, the PUC may require an alternative program or specific trim cycles. The rule sets these minimum distances from conductors under reasonably anticipated operating conditions:
| Conductor voltage | Minimum clearance of vegetation |
|---|---|
| Above 200,000 volts | 10 feet |
| 50,001 through 200,000 volts | 7.5 feet |
| 600 through 50,000 volts | 5 feet; may be reduced to 3 feet if the vegetation is not readily climbable; limited small branches and new growth may intrude if no closer than 6 inches to the conductor |
| Below 600 volts | Trim to prevent strain or abrasion on conductors, or install suitable material or devices where trimming is not practical |
The rule defines readily climbable vegetation as having low limbs reachable from the ground and close enough together for a child or average person to climb without a ladder, and a stem or branch that would support that person within arm's reach of an uninsulated energized line or close enough to be hurt by contact. It also defines a cycle buster as vegetation that will not get through the routine trim cycle without breaching the clearances. In deciding how much to trim, the rule lists voltage, location, configuration, conductor sag under heat, wind and ice, and the growth habit, strength and health of adjacent vegetation as factors.
Sources
- Oregon Public Utility Commission, Wildfire mitigation, read October 8, 2026
- Oregon Public Utility Commission, Fact sheet: PUC's role in vegetation management, read October 8, 2026
- Oregon Public Utility Commission, Oregon electric utility wildfire mitigation plans, May 5, 2025, read October 8, 2026
- Legal Information Institute, Oregon Administrative Rule 860-024-0016 Minimum Vegetation Clearance Requirements, read October 8, 2026