Deadly CA Wildfire Probe Eyes Utility Tower

PULGA, CA -- Cal Fire investigators removed a cross arm from the PG&E transmission tower that malfunctioned minutes before the Camp Fire ignited, an attorney said Wednesday, raising questions about whether the tower’s age may have caused the failure and possibly sparked the state’s deadliest and most destructive fire.

Attorney Frank Pitre said he has learned the arm, attached to a “jumper line,” which helps transition power on the 115,000-volt transmission line, was removed by investigators as part of their probe into what may have ignited the Camp Fire on Nov. 8. The utility notified state regulators that its Caribou-Palermo transmission line malfunctioned about 15 minutes before the fire was first reported at 6:33 a.m. underneath high-tension wires near Poe Dam, and the California Public Utilities Commission and Cal Fire has said they are investigating whether PG&E equipment played a role in the blaze.

“The physical evidence taken by Cal Fire will reveal the mechanism of failure,” Pitre said.

In December 2012, a fierce winter storm, with winds reaching 55 mph at times, toppled five other lattice-steel towers that support the same transmission line. The utility rebuilt those towers in 2016, but did not replace the rest of the aging towers, Pitre said, adding that the structures are at least 50 years old.

The Caribou transmission line was originally built in 1919, according to CPUC records. Pitre said corrosion, in conjunction with high winds in the area the morning of the fire, could have contributed to the malfunction.

“Given the age of the equipment that failed in 2012, a thorough evaluation of the integrity of entire line should have been done in order to decide if additional equipment along the line should have been replaced,” Pitre said. “It could have corroded from the inside out, like a cancer.”

On Wednesday, a federal judge supervising the aftermath of PG&E’s San Bruno explosion felony trial asked the state attorney general to weigh in on whether PG&E’s actions with its electrical system could be considered criminal if found linked to the Camp Fire cause.

The request for information from U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup came in connection with a series of wildfires in PG&E’s service territory, including the October 2017 Wine Country fires and this fall’s Camp Fire inferno in Butte County, according to multiple orders filed by the judge. The utility’s power lines already have been linked to other deadly wildfires in Northern California last year.

“The extent to which, if at all, the reckless operation or maintenance of PG&E power lines would constitute a crime under California law” was the primary area of interest on the part of Judge Alsup in his request to the state.

A PG&E spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday about what Cal Fire confiscated in Butte County and details of the investigation of the Camp Fire.

“PG&E has provided two Electric Incident Reports to the Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission related to equipment in the area of the Camp Fire,” spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin said. “The information provided in these reports are preliminary and PG&E is fully cooperating with the investigations.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but firefighter radio transmissions and the utility’s self-reporting of power line issues near possible first and second ignition points have indicated PG&E’s equipment may have played a role. A Cal Fire spokesman on Wednesday said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

PG&E first reported damage to the transmission line around 6:15 a.m. Nov. 8. A distribution line in nearby Concow also malfunctioned a half hour later, possibly sparking a second fire.

Pitre and other attorneys have already filed lawsuits against the utility representing fire survivors who lost their homes. Eight-five people have died and thousands of homes were burned down, including most of the town of Paradise.

The utility has a history of equipment problems in the Feather River Canyon area. PG&E paid millions of dollars in settlements in September 2001 and October 2017 from trees or vegetation coming into contact with power lines.

Staff writer George Avalos contributed to this report.

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