Edhat Staff
Santa Barbara County residents may have noticed a helicopter making multiple passes overhead on Monday. This activity is part of a LIDAR scanning project, commissioned by Southern California Edison, aimed at enhancing utility safety in the region.
The project is being executed by Sacramento Executive Helicopters Inc., a company that specializes in aerial surveys. They have been tasked with conducting detailed scans of vegetation surrounding the power lines operated by Southern California Edison throughout southern Santa Barbara County.
LIDAR technology, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is utilized to produce precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics. This process requires the helicopter to make several passes over the same area to ensure the accuracy of the data collected.
This repetitive flight pattern was evident in the yellow lines captured in the flight pattern image provided by flightradar24 (above).
The utilization of LIDAR scanning in utility management is a proactive safety measure. It allows the utility company to identify potential hazards, such as overgrown vegetation near power lines, which could lead to fires or outages. By accurately mapping the area surrounding power lines, Southern California Edison can undertake necessary maintenance work more efficiently and with reduced risk to the surrounding community.
This initiative is part of an ongoing effort by utility companies to leverage technology for better risk management and to ensure the reliability of power supply while safeguarding against natural and man-made hazards.
Residents can expect to see the helicopter conducting these important scans over the coming days as the project continues. Southern California Edison reassures the community that these flights are a crucial step towards enhancing safety and reliability of the utility service in Santa Barbara County.
LIDAR has also been used to detect evidence of ancient buildings, towns, roads…basically human activity from over the centuries. Pretty much anywhere the earth has been disturbed. LIDAR scans of current farms in the U.K. have revealed long forgotten and unknown villages and structures. Would be interesting to see if there’s any evidence of Chumash habitation we don’t know about.
Great idea, Joe. Maybe a UCSB Grad student could get access to the imagery for that.