Integrated Wildfire Impact Modeling on Urban-Suburban Distribution System Resilience
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Wildfires pose increasing threats to modern power distribution systems through direct infrastructure damage and cascading effects, such as solar generation reduction and affected electric vehicle (EV) charging patterns during mass evacuations. This paper develops an integrated wildfire impact modeling framework that couples fire propagation simulation, aerodynamic-based smoke dispersion modeling, stochastic EV charging behavior during evacuation from wildfire, and power flow analysis to comprehensively assess distribution system resilience under compound wildfire stresses. The presented case study examines California’s Sonoma County electric power distribution system with high photovoltaic (PV) penetration and high EV adoption. The results show that fire damage can significantly influence the distribution system resiliency. Smoke-induced PV generation reductions and evacuation-related charging surges are also substantial contributors to system stress. The integrated modeling approach reveals compound stress patterns and critical vulnerability, enabling utilities to conduct comprehensive resilience assessments and develop coordinated infrastructure hardening and emergency response strategies for distribution systems serving urban-suburban communities.
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7214156258