California utility Pacific Gas & Electric acknowledged it may be found liable for causing the state's Camp Fire and could face "significant" costs if investigators blame it for the subsequent devastation.
PG&E investors are panicking after the utility admitted that an outage on a 115-kilovolt transmission line near the fire's origin occurred around the time the blaze started.
The company's stock plunged 19.5 percent in late-morning trading Wednesday to $26.34. Shares are down more than $22 from a week ago, reflecting extraordinary volatility for a utility stock and suggesting that investors believe the company could face massive losses.
Put another way, the company's market value has fallen by more than $11 billion in a week.
The blaze has killed at least 42 people, destroyed at least 6,522 homes and 260 businesses and wrecked the town of Paradise.