FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – PG&E admits that its equipment may have ignited the 2018 Camp Fire.
The cause of blaze that killed 86 people and destroyed the entire town of Paradise is still under investigation, but PG&E says its equipment may be to blame.
The utility said on Thursday that it’s taking a $10.5 billion charge for claims connected to the Camp Fire in its 4th quarter earnings.
Advocates and lawyers for wildfire victims have already reacted to the news, that the company delayed safety work on its damaged transmission lines for years.
“They promised to fix it in 2013, they promised to fix it in 2014, 2015, and 2016 it is not fixed today, and that is the line that failed before the fire”, said Consumer Advocate Mark Toney, speaking to KGO.
Firefighters located the start of the fire, near a tower on PG&E’s Caribou-Palermo transmission line, which lost power just before the blaze and was later found to be damaged.
The State’s Public Utilities Commission says the utility will be subject to significant fines if it violated state law.
PG&E’s Interim CEO John Simon said Thursday that the company recognizes more must be done to address the increasing threat of wildfires and keep communities safe.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
