LAKE COUNTY – If you see a lot of helicopter activity around the county this week, you're likely noticing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. at work checking out its power line system.

The company is planning its annual helicopter patrols in parts of the county this week as a means of ensuring its power system's reliability.

Using helicopters, company representatives will check power distribution lines for maintenance from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, weather permitting.

The patrols will take place in Lake and Mendocino counties Wednesday through Friday, the company reported.

Company officials are looking for sagging lines, fallen tree limbs, vegetation overgrowth, potential fire hazards and other problems. Issues identified during these patrols will be corrected to ensure system safety and reliability going forward.

PG&E patrols and inspects all of its lines annually – more than 100,000 miles of them – to ensure safety and reliability, and to identify equipment in need of repair.

The company reported that the patrols allow officials to proactively schedule repairs of problems that might otherwise result in power outages.

In rough country, remote areas, or areas where there are fewer trees, the most efficient and sometimes only way to accomplish this is by helicopter.

Depending on the terrain and other seasonal obstacles, some power lines are inaccessible by truck and can only be seen from the air.

The helicopter patrols allow crews to get almost eyeball-to-equipment to identify potential problems, the company reported.

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