The utility said it found a tree leaning into a conductor where the fire started and it is “probable” it will incur Dixie Fire losses.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, August 3, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- California personal injury law firm Nadrich & Cohen Accident Injury Lawyers is filing Dixie Fire claims against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), who acknowledged in a July filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it is “probable” they will incur a financial loss in connection with the fire.

“The utility could be subject to significant liability in connection with this fire,” PG&E said in the filing.

The utility, in a Dixie Fire report it sent to the SEC, said they sent a troubleman to check on a PG&E outage system indication on July 13, 2021. The troubleman, according to the report, found two blown fuses, a tree leaning into the Bucks Creek 1101 12 kV conductor, and a fire on the ground near the tree’s base.

The utility, according to the SEC report, did not discover the tree and the fire until almost 10 hours after the outage system indication. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsay implied that it took almost 10 hours to discover the fire because “they put in a ticket – not a high-priority ticket, just a regular ticket, for a lineman in Chico to go check on it,” adding that this lineman first needed to attend to “higher-priority tickets.”

In addition, PG&E, in a separate report it sent to the SEC regarding the Fly Fire, which has merged with the Dixie Fire, said they helped the U.S. Forest Service move and examine a tree which was “resting on conductor on the Gansner 1101 circuit.”

California Public Resources Code § 4293 requires at least four feet of clearance between trees and power lines operating between 2,400 and 72,000 volts. Public Utilities Code § 2106 holds utilities liable for harm caused when they fail to obey the law.

California utilities can be held liable for damages caused by fires they start under Article 1, § 19 of the California Constitution, which states that private property may only be damaged for public use when just compensation is paid to the owner.

California Health & Safety Code § 13007 states that those who negligently allow a fire to escape onto others’ property are liable to the property owners for any fire damages.

PG&E has previously been placed into enhanced oversight by California’s Public Utilities Commission for not giving enough priority to making sure vegetation is cleared from the vicinity of high-risk power lines. CAL FIRE determined that the Zogg Fire, which was first reported in September 2020, burned 56,338 acres, destroyed 204 buildings and killed four people, was started when a pine tree fell onto PG&E’s power lines in Shasta County, CA. Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett recently announced her office has found PG&E “criminally liable” for the Zogg Fire.

About Nadrich & Cohen Accident Injury Lawyers

Nadrich & Cohen Accident Injury Lawyers is a California personal injury law firm which has been representing injury victims since 1990. The firm has recovered over $350,000,000 on behalf of clients and is currently representing victims of numerous California wildfires which have been linked to PG&E, including the Dixie Fire, the Zogg Fire and the Kincade Fire.

The utility said it found a tree leaning into a conductor where the fire started and it is “probable” it will incur Dixie Fire losses.

Jeffrey Nadrich
Nadrich & Cohen Accident Injury Lawyers
+1 8007184658
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn