Equipment owned by Pacific Gas & Electric sparked last year’s Kincade fire, which forced thousands of Northern Californians to flee their homes, according to a state fire department investigation.
The fire started Oct. 23, 2019 and burned for nearly two weeks amid dry, gusty winds that pushed the flames west through wine country as much of the region was enduring days of power outages — also caused by PG&E. The utility had resorted to shutting down power to millions of customers on the hottest, windiest days in a bid to avoid sparking blazes but left its more vital transmission lines energized.
In the days after the Kincade fire took off, the utility filed a notice with the watchdog Public Utilities Commission, saying it had issues with transmission equipment near the fire about the time it began. PG&E said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also pointed out a “broken jumper on the same tower.”
But in announcing the conclusion of its investigation Thursday, Cal Fire declined to explain how PG&E’s equipment sparked the fire, which burned 77,758 acres and destroyed 374 buildings.
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