PG&E’s equipment caused the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, a lethal blaze that roared through Butte County last fall and killed 85 people, according to a new report released Wednesday by state fire investigators.
The report from the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, intensifies the woes that loom over the utility, which has filed for bankruptcy as it attempts to ward off wildfire-related liabilities estimated at $30 billion and an array of other debts.
“Cal Fire has determined that the Camp Fire was caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by PG&E located in the Pulga area” of Butte County, the state agency’s report said.
The investigation was “very meticulous and thorough,” Cal Fire said.
The lethal Camp Fire torched nearly 14,000 homes and roared through Butte County in November 2018, essentially destroying the town of Paradise.
Cal Fire said it also identified a second ignition point that contributed to the Camp Fire, vegetation ignited by PG&E electrical distribution lines. Eventually, the second blaze was overtaken by the primary fire that erupted near the town of Pulga.
“While we have not been able to review Cal Fire’s report, its determination that PG&E transmission lines near the Pulga area ignited the Camp Fire on the morning of November 8, 2018, is consistent with the company’s previous statements,” PG&E spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said. “We have not been able to form a conclusion as to whether a second fire ignited as a result of vegetation contact with PG&E electrical distribution lines, as Cal Fire also determined.”
PG&E is already a convicted felon for federal crimes it committed before and after a fatal gas explosion that killed eight and destroyed a quiet San Bruno neighborhood in 2010.
On Jan. 29, PG&E filed for a Chapter 11 filing to reorganize its finances, listing $51.69 billion in debts and $71.39 billion in assets.
Gerald Singleton, an attorney for numerous wildfire victims, said the results of the Cal Fire investigation suggest that state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom should proceed with caution before they fulfill PG&E requests to be bolstered financially and legally from exposure to future fires or past conflagrations.
“This finding underscores that it would be very foolish for the Legislature to give PG&E the kinds of bailouts that the company wants,” Singleton said.
The governor’s office, in a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, urged the judge in the case to deny PG&E’s request for a half-year extension to file a formal proposal to reorganize its shattered finances.
“All should be mindful of PG&E’s history of over two decades of mismanagement, misconduct and failed efforts to improve a woeful safety culture,” Newsom’s office stated in the filing with the bankruptcy court. “We should not forget that PG&E entered these Chapter 11 Cases as a convicted felon, with five different felony convictions for safety violations and one conviction for obstruction of justice.”
San Francisco-based PG&E for years has suggested that state lawmakers cobble together legislation that would ease the framework for the legal exposure a utility might face in case of a destructive fire.
At present, a California doctrine called inverse condemnation allows PG&E and other major power companies in the state to be held strictly liable if their equipment was a substantial cause of a fire, even if the utility followed established inspection and safety rules.
“PG&E wants to escape liability from future fires,” said Singleton, who added, “We should not have ratepayers and taxpayers pay billions of dollars so PG&E shareholders can enjoy billions of dollars in profits.”
The findings by Cal Fire suggest that PG&E has yet to learn the lessons of the San Bruno blast of nearly a decade ago, according to state Sen. Jerry Hill, whose district includes parts of San Mateo County and Santa Clara County, as well as San Bruno.
The deadly San Bruno explosion was caused by a combination of PG&E’s flawed record keeping and shoddy maintenance, along with lazy and ineffective oversight by the state Public Utilities Commission, federal investigators determined in 2011.
“PG&E had poor maintenance on its transmission lines and the company failed in its vegetation management near its equipment,” Hill said. “They never learn.”
The official information in the Camp Fire investigation was forwarded to prosecutors in Butte County, a move that could be a prelude to a criminal proceeding in the situation.
“I hope that the Butte County District Attorney takes this seriously and seeks justice for the 85 people who lost their lives,” Hill said.
Paradise Mayor Jody Jones told the Associated Press that she was not surprised to hear the news and said she hopes the findings help its legal case against the utility.
Jones said, “it’s nice to have a definite answer” about the cause of the blaze.