PG&E working with state to investigate each blaze
As extraordinary fires began to race throughout Northern California communities, first responders rushed into action to help evacuate threatened families.
We are deeply grateful to these firefighters, police officers, sheriff ’s deputies, National Guard troops, paramedics and other first responders. Their courage and sacrifice are remarkable.
Following the first responders, 4,300 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. linemen, gas workers, engineers, troubleshooters and other skilled professionals have worked around the clock to restore electric and gas service to our customers.
With these fires now largely contained, all of us rightly ask: What caused them? The simple answer is we don’t know yet.
The communities, homeowners and customers impacted by these fires deserve real answers, not speculation. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, known as Cal Fire, and the California Public Utilities Commission are actively investigating each fire location.
We are fully cooperating with both agencies, and we want to find the cause or causes with the goal of learning how we all might work together to prevent more fires in the future. We are committed to providing them with the information they need about our extensive vegetation-management practices, what we have done to address drought conditions that are worsening because of climate change and environmental factors, and other aspects of our operations.
At a minimum, we know that in the early hours of the fire, meteorologists and other experts cited an extraordinary wind event with extreme gusts in the Northern California mountains.
According to The Chronicle, “As flames driven by powerful winds slammed into the neighborhoods, the heat rose up, pulling the wind with it and creating a kind of vortex of air that circled around at hurricane-force speeds.” In the judgment of Cal Fire’s northern region chief, quoted in the same Chronicle article, “It was no different than a hurricane, really, but instead of rain we had a fire event. I’ve been in this business 30 years and it’s the worst I’ve seen.”
As we learn more, our commitment to our customers is to provide regular updates about the fires. That’s why we have set up a website, www.pge commitment.com, and we will post information concerning the fires and recovery efforts.
Whatever we ultimately determine about the cause or causes of the fires, our greater commitment is to help these communities recover. We are contributing to local relief efforts, but that is just the beginning. We will work with the affected communities to determine what they need and how we can help.
Our customers there are our friends, neighbors and families. We have proudly served them for more than 100 years. We have worked together in the past to build a better California. Now, throughout the Northern California fire zones, we will work together to rebuild.
To the families who have lost homes and loved ones, the collective hearts and prayers of all 23,000 men and women who work at PG&E are with you. We want you to know that we are here to help in any way we can, and we will have teams in your communities ready to answer questions, provide assistance or help you find the help you need.