In what could be a significant new legal headache for PG&E, a lawyer representing wildfire victims said Tuesday that the utility is being investigated for possible criminal conduct in the start of the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed much of the town of Paradise.
Addressing a bankruptcy court hearing on PG&E’s plans to pay an estimated $235 million in employee bonuses, wildfire victims’ attorney Dario de Ghetaldi said a Butte County grand jury is probing the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history. Potential liabilities from the fire have already driven the utility into bankruptcy.
He offered no further details but told a reporter the probe is in its early stages. PG&E declined to comment, and Deputy District Attorney Curt Worley had no comment either.