California’s largest utility company, PG&E, acknowledged its electrical equipment might have ignited a wildfire burning in wine country Friday, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent fires.
Pacific Gas & Electric imposed sweeping blackouts, affecting a half-million people in Northern and Central California after strong winds fueled the fire that burned over 25 square miles. PG&E said most people had their power restored by Thursday night.
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The power shut-offs were put in place after PG&E electrical equipment was blamed for numerous blazes in recent years that burned thousands of homes and killed scores of people.
However, on Thursday, PG&E said it did not de-energize a 230,000-volt transmission line near Geyserville that malfunctioned minutes before the fire erupted. The company reported finding a “broken jumper” wire on a transmission tower Wednesday night.
Bill Johnson, CEO of PG&E, said it was too early to know if the defective equipment started the fire. He said that over the past two years, the tower had been inspected four times and seemed to be in top condition.
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When PG&E shut off the electricity, it cut power to the distribution lines that supply homes but not to its long-distance transmission lines.
Meanwhile, Southern California Edison, which shut off electricity to more than 31,000 customers in southern California on Thursday, was considering additional power cuts to more than 386,000.
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The high winds in Northern California had calmed down by Friday, but they were expected to gain momentum over the weekend. Scott Strenfel, the chief meteorologist for PG&E, said Northern California could be in for the strongest offshore winds in years with gusts of 40 to 60 mph in many places. PG&E warned it might blackout an even more extensive region.
