Dixie Fire Sparked By Tree Contacting PG&E Equipment, Cal Fire Confirms

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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Cal Fire connected Tuesday announced that the Dixie Fire — the second-largest wildfire successful California past — was caused by a histrion coming into interaction with Pacific Gas and Electric equipment.

“After a meticulous and thorough investigation, CAL FIRE has determined that the Dixie Fire was caused by a histrion contacting electrical organisation lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) located westbound of Cresta Dam,” Cal Fire said successful a quality release.

Cal Fire said its study has been forwarded to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

The Dixie Fire burned a full of 963,309 acres crossed Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Lassen and Tehama counties implicit a 3 period span. It sparked successful mid-July and was afloat contained by precocious October — it was progressive for 103 days.

The 5 aforementioned counties filed a associated suit successful October against PG&E for the injuries and damaged caused by the fire. A preliminary study from PG&E successful July acknowledged that its instrumentality whitethorn person been progressive successful the commencement of the Dixie Fire

According to that report, a PG&E troubleman reported connected the greeting of July 13 seeing what looked similar a blown fuse astatine immoderate instrumentality astatine the Bucks Creek 1101 12kV enactment aft an outage astatine the Cresta Dam disconnected Highway 70.

The troubleman wasn’t capable to scope the rod until aboriginal that afternoon. At that point, the idiosyncratic recovered 2 of 3 fuses blown and a histrion leaning into a conductor. A occurrence was besides connected the ground, adjacent the basal of the tree, according to the report.

The Dixie Fire became the largest non-complex occurrence successful California past and, among each fires successful authorities history, lone sits down the August Complex (of August 2020), which burned much than 1 cardinal acres crossed 7 counties.

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One idiosyncratic died successful the Dixie Fire. The blaze destroyed 1,329 structures, including homes, and damaged different 95, according to Cal Fire.