The Inland Northwest is gearing up for wildfire season and so is the area's biggest utility company, Avista. A DNR report released on Tuesday found it was a tree limb that fell onto an Avista power line that caused last year's devastating Babb Road Fire that destroyed the towns of Malden and Pine City. Avista plans to implement a number of things to help prevent wildfires. According to Avista Communications Manager Annie Gannon, the company is working to harden its grid to make it more resistant to severe weather. They are focusing on grid hardening in areas of higher wildfire risk and making targeted changes. The company is also upgrading wooden transmission poles with steel and installing a special fire-retardant wire mesh around the bottom of wood poles. They’re also replacing wooden cross arms on poles with stronger fiberglass, Gannon said.