Investigators Say PG&E Caused Devastating 2019 California Wildfire
AGAIN?!?
Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) announced Thursday that power lines owned by the nation’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), were the cause of yet another devastating wildfire in California, the latest in a long line of failures for the power company. Cal Fire officials said the company’s power lines north of San Francisco in wine country fell and sparked the Kincade Fire in October 2019, which led to the evacuation of more than 100,000 people and millions in damages. The utility company reorganized during a recent bankruptcy caused by its liabilities from wildfires in 2017 and 2018 in Northern California. Courts deemed PG&E criminally liable for the destruction of thousands of homes due to a failure to perform necessary maintenance, and the company pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in June.