California’s biggest utility admitted its electrical equipment may have ignited a ruinous wildfire spreading over the state’s wine country Friday, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent blazes.
The disclosure came as firefighters simultaneously battled flames in both Northern and Southern California: the fire amid Sonoma County’s vineyards, and a wind-whipped blaze that destroyed homes near Los Angeles.
The fire near the Northern California town of Geyserville burned at least 49 buildings and 34 square miles and prompted evacuation orders for some 2,000 people.
It was driven by the strong winds that had prompted Pacific Gas & Electric to impose sweeping blackouts affecting a half-million people in Northern and Central California. Power was restored to most people by Thursday evening, PG&E said.
PG&E resorted to shut-offs after fallen power lines and other electrical equipment were blamed for several blazes in recent years that killed scores of people, burned thousands of homes and ran up billions of dollars in claims that drove the utility into bankruptcy.
However, PG&E said Thursday it didn’t de-energize a 230,000-volt transmission line near Geyserville that malfunctioned minutes before the fire erupted. The utility reported finding a “broken jumper” wire on a transmission tower Wednesday night.
PG&E CEO Bill Johnson said it was too soon to know if the faulty equipment sparked the fire. He said the tower had been inspected four times in the past two years and appeared to have been in excellent condition.
Investors were leery, though, and PG&E stock fell more than 20 percent during the day.
In shutting off the electricity, PG&E cut power to the distribution lines that supply homes, but not to its long-distance transmission lines.
Meanwhile, an estimated 50,000 people were under evacuation orders in the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles as hot, dry Santa Ana winds howling at up to 50 mph drove the flames into neighborhoods. At least six homes were burned. No immediate injuries were reported.
“I’m literally seeing sticks and fire of what used to be our home,” Alejandro Corrales told KCBS-TV. She said the fire also took her mother’s ashes, other belongings and possibly a pen full of pet sheep.