Case Study: a Fortune 500 utility improves wildfire mitigation and vegetation management with Overstory

How one Fortune 500 utility uses vegetation analytics to support wildfire mitigation

The customer, a Fortune 500 utility company, faced significant challenges in managing wildfire risk across its vast network of power lines. With historical methods like aerial and foot patrols being inefficient and difficult to scale, the company needed a more comprehensive solution to make strategic, data-driven budgeting decisions. They partnered with Overstory to implement its satellite-based vegetation analytics and configurable risk framework to enhance their situational awareness and mitigation efforts.

Overstory’s solution involved first correcting the utility’s pole and line location data for accuracy and then configuring a custom risk model that incorporated vegetation proximity, tree health, and wildfire zone data. The results were verified by the utility’s own certified arborists, who found Overstory’s risk analysis to be over 90% accurate in identifying areas needing work. This enabled the utility to optimize trimming cycles, target high-risk hotspots, and strategically allocate its budget, leading to improved reliability metrics and a more defensible, scalable wildfire mitigation program.