Utility says power lines may have started 2 California fires
Posted October 28, 2019 7:00 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Pacific Gas & Electric Co. utility says its power lines may have started two wildfires over the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The company reported the incidents near the town Lafayette to state regulators on Monday.
PG&E told the California Public Utilities Commission that a worker responded to the first fire around 4:45 p.m. Sunday and was told firefighters believe contact between a power line and a communication line may have caused it.
A worker went to another fire about an hour later and was told firefighters are investigating a transformer as a possible ignition source.
PG&E is under severe financial pressure after its equipment has been blamed for a series of destructive wildfires in Northern California.
A helicopter drops water as the Getty fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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Evacuees fleeing the Getty wildfire take refuge at the Westwood Recreation Center in the western section of Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)
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Firefighters walk on top of a burned down canyon caused by the Getty fire on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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The Tiburon Peninsula remains dark from a power blackout Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in this view from Sausalito, Calif. Millions of people in Northern California are on track to have lights come back on, but some may not be restored before another round of strong winds threaten to damage power lines and spark fires. Electricity is expected to begin being restored by Monday, though Pacific Gas & Electric Co. warned it might cut power again as soon as Tuesday with a forecast of strong winds expected to last until Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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A California Street cable car operator and passenger wear breathing masks to protect against smoke from wildfires Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in San Francisco. A wildfire that has been burning in Northern California's wine country since last week grew overnight as nearly 200,000 people remain under evacuation orders. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Horses are evacuated near the Getty Fire area in Brentwood, Calif., Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. Fire conditions statewide have made California a "tinderbox," said Jonathan Cox, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
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A woman walks along the waterfront Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Sausalito, Calif., as smoke from wildfires blankets the San Francisco skyline in the background. A wildfire that has been burning in Northern California's wine country since last week grew overnight as nearly 200,000 people remain under evacuation orders. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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A Matson container ship passes the Golden Gate Bridge Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Sausalito, Calif., as smoke from wildfires blankets the San Francisco skyline in the background. A wildfire that has been burning in Northern California's wine country since last week grew overnight as nearly 200,000 people remain under evacuation orders. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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