PG&E equipment possibly to blame for the second wildfire that merged with Dixie Fire

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Not only could PG&E equipment be responsible for the Dixie fire, which has now burned more than 253,000 acres in Butte and Plumas counties, but the company has just submitted a report indicating that a tree is in contact. with its power lines near the town of Quincy, in the area where the smaller Fly Fire started.

We haven’t got off to a good start with this fire season, as PG&E has already realized that their equipment is potentially involved in two wildfires. And the Dixie fire, now one of the 10 largest fires in state history, is only 35% contained at the time of writing.

As The Associated Press reports, PG&E has just submitted its second report in as many weeks to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), suggesting that the Fly Fire, which erupted on July 22, may have originated where the US Forest Service recently examined a tree that was in contact with a utility pole.

PG&E said in its report that it was cooperating with the Forest Service investigation, and “The data currently available for PG&E does not establish the cause of the fly fire.”

The first Dixie fire started on July 13 and a PG&E repairman dispatched to the area was among the first to spot the fire. In a previous report to the CPUC, the company said this employee observed a blown fuse in an area upstream of the Cresta Dam, and when he reached the equipment, he found a fire already lit at the base of the electric pole. The Dixie fire took off quickly in its first 24 hours, burning in an area not far from the ignition point of the campfire that destroyed the town of Paradise in 2018.

The Fly Fire grew to around 4,000 acres on its own before merging with the Dixie Fire within days of its debut.

To date, the Dixie fire has destroyed 45 structures and threatened more than 3,000 others. The fire burned down the small community of Indian Falls last week and on Monday a mandatory evacuation order was issued for the town of Greenville, which has a population of approximately 1,000.

Map via #Firemappers

The Plumas County Sheriff’s Office also issued new evacuation orders on Monday for the west shore of Almanor Lake and the communities of Prattville and Canyondam. A refuge has been set up in the north in the city of Chester.

The Dixie Fire continues to burn northward on three separate fronts, driven by windy conditions.

Last week, the Shasta County district attorney announced criminal charges against PG&E in connection with last year’s Zogg fire, in which four people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Days after it was revealed that PG&E equipment could have started the Dixie fire, the company announced plans to put 10,000 miles of power lines underground in fire-prone areas of northern California, which security advocates have advocated for decades.

Previously: PG&E gear may be to blame for starting the Dixie fire near where the campfire started

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