SoCal Edison deploying contract helicopters to survey Santa Barbara area during peak fire season

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Southern California Edison is deploying contracted helicopters in the Santa Barbara area to survey their equipment during peak fire season.

SoCal Edison will be inspecting their equipment all throughout Santa Barbara to ensure that they are working properly.

They will be looking for structural damage that might lead to an ignition.

SoCal Edison says that they have notified appropriate public agencies and city personnel about this project. They have also directly notified customers who have signed up to receive alerts from them.

The utility company has posted information about this aerial inspection work on various social media platforms including Facebook, Nextdoor, etc.

The inspections began on Monday.

The helicopters were contracted by the company to fly around Santa Barbara and capture images of their equipment.

Some helicopters might make multiple passes in a certain neighborhood to capture quality images of their equipment.

SoCal Edison assures that these helicopters are meeting regulations and laws on how low they are flying.

SoCal Edison says their goal is to conclude these helicopter base inspections by Saturday.