Napa County Camp Enjoys Safer Facilities With New Electric System

When a tree struck a PG&E power line and started the Nuns Fire in October 2017, more than 56,000 acres and 1,355 structures burned. 

Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind was among those affected. The fire damaged more than half the Napa County camp’s capacity. 

For Enchanted Hills — founded in 1950 and the first camp of its kind on the West Coast — the destruction was a devastating blow to its mission to provide recreational opportunities for blind or low-vision babies, children, teens and adults. 

But the camp would rebuild. Its new campus would be safer than ever starting with the 2024 wildfire season, thanks in part to a new electric system that PG&E helped build. 

Making it happen wasn’t easy. 

“There was a lot of collaboration with PG&E, Enchanted Hills, its designer and contractor, and public agencies,” said Shannon Garcia, a PG&E senior new business rep based in American Canyon (Napa County). 

‘All hands on deck’ 

The camp’s previous electric equipment included a mile-long thicket of 13 utility poles. There were multiple electric transformers, meters and panels. Some power lines connected to trees. The camp needed regular PG&E tree-trimming work. What’s more, the equipment made it harder to evacuate camp goers in an emergency. 

The reimagined electric infrastructure would start with a different type of electric service. 

The camp’s power previously came through multiple lower-voltage power lines of the kind that typically serve homes. Instead, PG&E would combine Enchanted Hills’ total electric demand. It could then deliver power through high-voltage equipment that serves larger customers. 

The switch would leave just one utility pole at the top of the camp’s mountain line. Undergrounded power lines and one meter would serve its buildings. 

The redesign would get rid of nearly all overhead electric equipment at Enchanted Hills to make the camp as safe as possible during wildfire season. 

The top challenge would be the price tag. 

It can cost at least $3 million a mile to underground power lines. Enchanted Hills would bear the cost, but PG&E would need to help keep the budget as low as possible. That effort would come partly through limiting construction delays. 

It would also mean working with designs from Enchanted Hills’ electrical engineering firm, Engineering 350, which drew up the plans to be as simple as possible on PG&E’s side, said Padriac McGinnis, the project manager working on behalf of camp owner LightHouse for the Blind. 

Supply-chain issues during and after the COVID-19 pandemic also caused delays. To stay on schedule, PG&E would have to build on weekends, which regulations in Napa County didn’t allow. 

With those obstacles, PG&E would need its virtues, including nimbleness and tenacity, to meet Enchanted Hills’ winter deadline for energization. 

“Customer relations is about constantly responding to the customer,” Garcia said. “We were very detailed in what we needed from Enchanted Hills. If they had questions, we got back to them, even if we didn’t have a status update. I don’t ever want a customer to feel like we left them hanging. I want them to know we’re always still here.” 

Garcia said the Enchanted Hills team was “very understanding and easy to work with.” 

On the Enterprise Public Works side, San Rafael-based Agency Liaison John Holman worked with Napa County officials. He explained how allowing work on weekends would positively affect Enchanted Hills. 

The county agreed to the weekend work, speeding up completion by as much as three months. 

McGinnis praised PG&E’s efforts on Enchanted Hills. 

“PG&E was really responsive. Shannon is an awesome partner,” he said. “She gets back to you quickly. She knows what needs to happen and she facilitates it. I enjoy working with her.” 

Sacramento-based PG&E Service Planning Manager Phil Souza said both sides were key to completing the work. 

“Shannon exemplifies all PG&E’s virtues. She was a true owner of this project. She was tenacious and nimble,” he said. “The customer supported us with information every step of the way. We provided cross-collaboration across PG&E departments. It was all hands on deck to get this done.” 

Widespread benefits 

PG&E removed the existing poles and power lines at Enchanted Hills in December 2023 — the “happiest day,” McGinnis said. 

The new electric system came online in January. That gave the camp time to prepare for the summer season’s June opening. 

The camp had endured six years of “limping forward to keep things going,” McGinnis said. 

Beyond the Nuns Fire, the pandemic shut down the camp’s limited operations in 2020. The state’s intense drought in 2021 and 2022 caused water-service issues. 

Thanks in part to the completed electric upgrades, 2024 was the first summer since 2017 that the camp was fully online. 

The best part? The new electric system doesn’t just benefit Enchanted Hills — it benefits other PG&E customers. 

It was costly to manage more than a dozen poles with overhead power lines and transformers, Garcia said. Such operations and maintenance costs are passed along to customers in rates set by the California Public Utilities Commission. Efforts to reduce those costs can help lower rates over time. 

All that is why the effort was worth it for Garcia. 

“It’s such a good feeling to finish a project like this. It’s something we worked on for years. The customer is happy, and the work helps both the customer and the community.”