TD1953883 Desert Front Circle 12kV Covered Conductor Project (California Endangered Species Act Incidental Take Permit No. 1927-ITP-2025-054- 06 (ITP))

2026011071

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Inland Deserts Region 6 (CDFW)

NOE - Notice of Exemption

1/30/2026

1/30/2026

Andrew Chambers

Fish and Wildlife, Region 6

Environmental Scientist

Lead/Public Agency

3602 Inland Empire Blvd. Ste C-220
Ontario, CA 91764

(909) 758-6435

Andrew.Chambers@wildlife.ca.gov

Hazem Gabr

Southern California Edison

Principal Manager

Parties Undertaking Project

2244 Walnut Grove Avenue
Rosemead, CA 91770

(626) 302-7608

Hazem.Gabr@sce.com

34°22'35.3"N 117°36'32.7"W

HWY 2

The Project is located south of Desert Front Road and west of Highway 2 in unincorporated San Bernardino County, near the community of Wrightwood.

Statutory Exemption

Title 14, section 15269(c)

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has approved a Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act Incidental Take Permit (ITP) for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) TD1953883 Desert Front Circle 12kV Covered Conductor Project. SCE requested authorization for “take” of western Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) associated with their covered conductor project (CCP) work occurring along the Desert Front Circle 12kV distribution line. CDFW approved the TD1953883 Desert Front Circle 12kV Covered Conductor Project ITP relying on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) statutory exemption because it involves “specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency.” (Pub. Res. Code, § 21080(b)(4); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15269.) For the purposes of CEQA, “’Emergency’ means a sudden, unexpected occurrence, involving a clear and imminent danger, demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health, property, or essential public services. ‘Emergency’ includes such occurrences as fire, flood, earthquake, or other soil or geologic movements, as well as such occurrences as riot, accident, or sabotage.” (Cal. Pub. Res. Code, §21060.3.) The TD1953883 Desert Front Circle 12kV Covered Conductor Project falls within the class because it involves replacing and reinforcing a wood pole that has deteriorated and replacing bare wire conductors with covered conductors to significantly reduce the risk of electrical faults and wildfires. Covered conductors are insulated with a protective layer that prevents direct contact between conductors and the environment, helping prevent faults that can lead to overheating and prevent sparks from igniting dry vegetation in areas prone to wildfires. At least eight of California’s twenty most destructive wildfires had either electrical or power line causes, and all eight of those fires occurred within the last ten years. This Project is located within Tier 3 of the California Public Utilities Commission’s Fire-Threat Map, which outlines areas where there is extreme fire risk, including a likelihood and potential impacts on people and property from utility-related fires. Given the high risk of wildlife that electrical and power lines can pose, the location of this project within an area of extreme fire risk, and the focus of this project on restoring the structural integrity of utility poles and replacing bare wire power lines to reduce the potential for wildlife, CDFW has determined that this Project involves specific actions necessary to prevent a wildfire emergency and is thus exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21080, subdivision (b)(4).