A PG&E power line sparked the Dixie fire

State investigators have determined that a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. power line was responsible for sparking last year’s massive Dixie fire, which torched more than 960,000 acres in five Northern California counties as it burned clear across the Sierra Nevada.

According to a statement by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, investigators found that the fire “was caused by a tree contacting electrical distribution lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric located west of Cresta Dam.”

The department’s investigative report was forwarded to the Butte County district attorney’s office, according to Tuesday’s statement.

Cal Fire officials referred all questions regarding the report to prosecutors. The district attorney’s office could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

PG&E said in a statement Tuesday night that “a large tree struck one of our normally operating lines,” noting that it had discussed the incident in a July news briefing and that the tree was one of 8 million within striking distance of its lines.

The utility said it has committed to burying 10,000 miles of lines in addition to the risk reduction efforts included in its 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan.

“Regardless of today’s finding, we will continue to be tenacious in our efforts to stop fire ignitions from our equipment and to ensure that everyone and everything is always safe,” the statement said.

Dixie is not the first wildfire state investigators have traced to PG&E. In December, the company agreed to pay $125 million in fines and penalties under a settlement reached with state regulators after Cal Fire found that a faulty transmission line sparked the 2019 Kincade fire, which burned some 77,000 acres of Northern California wine country.

Earlier last year, PG&E emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with former Chief Executive Bill Johnson promising it would be “reimagined” after wildfires ignited by the utility’s equipment in 2017 and 2018 killed more than 100 people. The vast majority died in the Camp fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise.

PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2019 to shield itself from tens of billions of dollars in potential liabilities due to its role in the fires. The company pleaded guilty last year to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Camp fire and agreed to pay the maximum criminal fine of $3.5 million plus $500,000 for the cost of the investigation.

The Dixie fire, which started July 13, 2021, burned 963,309 acres and destroyed more than 1,400 structures, Cal Fire said.