PG&E asked for helicopter on day of Dixie Fire start
In a filing last week, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. told U.S. District Northern District Judge William Alsup that on July 13, the day the Dixie Fire began, a senior power generation inspector at Buck’s Creek reported that he saw or smelled smoke southeast of the powerhouse about two hours before it was reported.
While the inspector, who was located at the Bucks Creek Powerhouse parking lot, said that smoke was not in the direction of the Dixie Fire’s origin, he did call the Rock Creek switching center and told the operator there that he smelled smoke.
Despite making that phone call, the inspector concluded that he thought he had observed a cloud, not smoke, and stopped smelling smoke about a half-hour after he first smelled it.
According to the company’s filing, that switching center is located at the Rock Creek Powerhouse about one mile down the canyon from Cresta Dam.
PG&E said that operator alerted a helicopter pilot and asked the pilot to fly over the Bucks Creek area.
That operator reports having seen the helicopter over the area shortly thereafter, however, the company says that it's in the process of trying to find out who that helicopter pilot was and whether the helicopter flew over the area in response to the operator's call.
The company also says that the operator at the Rock Creek switching center went outside and asked an electrician working outside whether he smelled smoke or any sign of a fire.
The electrician reportedly circled the site but did not smell any smoke or see any sign of fire.
According to the company's filing, the operator signed into the shift at 2:26 p.m., and GPS tracking data shows the electrician left Rock Creek powerhouse for the day at about 3:16 p.m.
That was about two hours before the first report of a fire was made by the company.
The company also told the court that it may not have been the troubleman‘s call to dispatch that resulted in a call to Cal Fire to report the fire at about 5 p.m.
PG&E says another employee report of the fire was made about 5:01 p.m. and that was the call that led to notifying Cal Fire.
The employee was reportedly driving down Highway 70 and saw smoke while driving as he approached Cresta Dam. The employee reported the fire on his radio talk group, which a Rock Creek operator heard and responded that he would notify Cal Fire — which he did.
The company told the court it now believes it was that phone call that prompted the operator at the Rock Creek Powerhouse to call Cal Fire.
The company also responded to all questions about which phones the troubleman had on him when he responded to the report of the power outage.
PG&E said he had a workissued cell phone with him that uses Verizon and also had his personal cell phone with him which also uses Verizon, however, he did not have a satellite phone with him on July 13.