Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Electrical lines may have sparked Camp Fire

Overgrown vegetation near power lines may have sparked the deadly Camp Fire in Northern California, which has killed at least 48 people and nearly obliterated the town of Paradise.

A landowner near where the Camp Fire started says Pacific Gas & Electric Co. contacted her last week and said it needed to do work on power equipment on or near her property. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has been investigating whether power equipment could have caused the Camp Fire, Michael Grass reports for Route Fifty.

The role of electrical utilities in wildfires has been increasingly under debate as insurance claims rack up. State investigators found PG&E responsible for four fires in northern Sacramento last year; in three of those cases the power company hadn't trimmed trees back far enough from electrical equipment.

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