PG&E says drone operators not near fire’s origin point

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has found no evidence that one of its contractors flew a drone that interfered with early efforts to contain the historically massive and destructive Dixie Fire, according to a new court filing.

Attorneys for PG&E told a federal judge Wednesday that the company did have two contractors using drones to inspect long-distance power equipment in Butte and Plumas counties on July 13, the same day the Dixie Fire started in the Feather River Canyon.

But the contractors were inspecting electrical structures 20 to 30 miles away from Dixie’s origin point, PG&E said in its filing to U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

The judge, who oversees PG&E’s probation arising from the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion, has been probing PG&E’s possible connection to the Dixie Fire. He had asked the company whether the drone may have been operated by an off-duty contractor, based on information he said PG&E had provided to its court-appointed monitor.

In response, PG&E said it doesn’t have records about what the contractors did after they were done working for the utility for the day. Still, the company said it stands by its previous comments to Alsup that it has no reason to think one of the drones flew over the area where the fire began last month.

PG&E has previously acknowledged that the Dixie Fire may have started after a tree fell on one of its distribution lines in the canyon near Cresta Dam. Separately, California officials have said a drone being flown over the area July 13 interfered with initial aerial firefighting efforts, forcing Cal Fire planes to stop flying.

PG&E told Alsup that on July 14, one of the company’s employees spotted a jeep with the words “drone team” written on its side, parked in a Highway 70 lot about 14 miles south of Cresta Dam. The lot is often used by people seeking cell reception, the company said.

PG&E records said the jeep appeared to belong to one of the two drone contractors working for the company on July 13. But neither of those contractors were ever told by PG&E to fly over the power line that may have caused the Dixie Fire, nor did the contractors ask for permission to take any unscheduled flights, the company said.

Also, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey recently told the radio station KCBS he believes the drone “most likely belongs to an individual.” Ramsey did not immediately return a request for comment from The Chronicle on Wednesday.

The Dixie Fire has destroyed nearly 1,300 structures in the northern Sierra Nevada around Lake Almanor, making it California’s 14th-most-destructive recorded wildfire. It has burned more than 735,000 acres, making it the second-largest known wildfire in state history. As of Wednesday morning, the massive blaze was 45% contained.

PG&E has reported that one of its employees found a tree on power lines, two blown fuses and flames spreading on the ground near the location where the fire is thought to have started. Alsup and attorneys will question that employee at a San Francisco hearing on Sept. 13.