A Cal Fire investigation has found Pacific Gas and Electric Co. responsible for the 2015 Butte Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in state history.
The investigation released Thursday determined that the fire was sparked by a PG&E power line that came into contact with a tree, resulting in a wildfire that spread to more than 70,000 acres in Amador and Calaveras counties, killed two people and burned more than 900 structures. The Butte Fire was the seventh-largest in state history.
Poor tree maintenance by PG&E and its contractors led to a tree falling on a power line and starting the fire near Jackson, according to the 30-page Cal Fire investigative report.
PG&E released a statement Thursday saying, “We are reviewing Cal Fire’s report in its entirety. As we’ve said since Sept. 16, we cooperated fully with Cal Fire in its investigation on the source of the ignition for the Butte Fire. We are committed to doing the right thing for our customers and will respond in the normal legal process.”
The finding has led the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Calaveras County to seek damages against PG&E. Cal Fire will seek more than $90 million in firefighting costs from the utility, according to a news release from the agency. Calaveras County supervisors say they will seek “hundreds of millions in compensation” from PG&E for the fire, estimated to have caused more than $1 billion in damage in that county.
The county expects to file a civil lawsuit in Superior Court, seeking to recover the county’s costs of responding to the fire, cleanup efforts, and losses of public property, county officials said.