UTILIZED SOFTWARE 

MicroStation, PLS-CADD, PLS-Pole, SAPS

LOCATION 

USA

ORGANIZATION/COMPANY 

NV5

In California, NV5 faced a challenge that traditional methods could no longer meet: safeguarding more than 17,600 miles of utility lines and 1,387 circuits spread across 5,755 square kilometers of wildfire-prone terrain. Manual inspection was slow, reactive, and impossible to scale — leaving communities, habitats, and the grid exposed to escalating climate-driven risk.

Working with Bentley applications, NV5 built an AI-driven vegetation intelligence program that turned airborne LiDAR into actionable insight. Automated classification workflows processed vast remote-sensing datasets using machine learning and computer vision. The results flowed into PLS-CADD for conductor clearance analysis and MicroStation for 3D visualization, while PLS-Pole and SAPS validated structures under simulated load conditions. What once required painstaking manual drafting became a repeatable, high-volume risk-detection engine.

The impact is measurable. The program achieves nearly 99% accuracy in detecting vegetation encroachments near critical lines, dramatically reducing the likelihood of ignition events. Preventing fires across 5,755 square kilometers protects terrestrial habitats, preserves water catchment quality, and shields nearby communities from wildfire smoke and its health consequences. Avoided fires also mean avoided emissions — a direct contribution to climate action and a lower carbon footprint. And by keeping 17,600 miles of transmission lines resilient, the program secures reliable distribution of clean energy to the people who depend on it.

Just as importantly, the work shifted NV5's utility networks from reactive maintenance to proactive asset management, with optimized schedules that concentrate resources where risk is highest. The program strengthened alignment with the California Public Utilities Commission's Wildfire Mitigation Plan and was completed in November 2025 at an estimated cost of 4 million USD.

It is a story of technology used not simply to inspect infrastructure, but to protect the land, air, and communities around it.