The causes of the fires have not been determined. In the meantime, do not demonize PG and E.
Bill and Aileen Charamuga said in September they believed they knew exactly where the Butte Fire started: Under a power line that crosses their property on Charamuga Ranch in Amador County.Cal Fire’s incident investigator Gianni Muschetto went to the same area the day the Butte Fire broke out, Sept. 9, 2015, near Charamuga Ranch and Butte Mountain roads, east of Jackson...
On Thursday, more than seven months after the Butte Fire changed the lives of residents in multiple communities across Calaveras County, Cal Fire confirmed the Charamugas’ suspicions, as well as suggestions made by utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric on Sept. 16:
Contact between a live tree and PG&E power line sparked the Butte Fire.
April 26, 2017: More Butte Fire fines levied on PG&E - Utility ordered to cough up $8.3 million
CPUC found in its investigation that PG&E did not safely maintain its 12-kilovolt overhead electric conductor in a safe and proper manner, resulting in an $8 million fine, the maximum for any one citation issued under the CPUC’s rules and regulations.The investigation revealed a planned removal in January of 2015 of two trees close to the area exposed the gray pine tree that sparked the fire when it contacted a PG&E conductor in September of 2015.
“Part of our investigation included determining when PG&E had last conducted vegetation management in the area, which was January 2015,” Christopher Chow, an information officer with the CPUC said Wednesday.
June 22, 2017: Judge Confirms PG&E To Pay For Butte Fire Victims’ Damages
The California Public Utilities Commission’s investigation found that PG&E did not have the minimum clearance required around its equipment and failed to maintain its overhead conductors safely and properly. A gray pine tree contacted a PG&E 12-kilovolt overhead electric conductor and ignited the fire on September 9, 2015. The Butte Fire burned 70,868 acres in Amador and Calaveras counties. It destroyed 549 homes, 368 outbuildings and four commercial buildings. It also resulted in two civilian fatalities and one injury.
August 11, 2017: Butte Fire judge rejects PG&E motion to bar punitive damages:
The Sacramento County Superior Court judge responsible for handling all Butte Fire claims has denied a motion by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that sought to strike all punitive damage claims from Butte Fire victims’ cases...Judge Allen Sumner denied the PG&E motion because he concluded that reasonable jurors might find the utility company’s failure to properly vet and supervise independent contractors that handled its vegetation management program demonstrated a conscious disregard for public safety.
In September 2015, a tree contacted a PG&E power line and sparked the 70,000-acre Butte Fire, according to a subsequent investigation and report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. In the aftermath of the blaze, more than 2,050 plaintiffs filed suit against PG&E for the damages they suffered.
Demonize? PG&E has been in the news as recent as last month over past behaviors.
Like I said, it appears to be a chronic issue at PG&E. They do some fire prevention management, but it doesn't seem to be systemic.
-PJ