State fire officials say Pacific Gas & Electric power lines sparked last summer's Dixie Fire in Northern California. The fire swept through five counties and burned more than 1,300 homes and other buildings.
“This tree was one of more than 8 million trees within strike distance to PG&E lines,” PG&E said in a statement. “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.”
A historic drought and recent heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires fiercer and harder to fight in the American West. Shasta and Tehama counties have sued the utility alleging negligence, saying PG&E had failed to remove the tree even though it had been marked for removal two years earlier. The utility said the tree was subsequently cleared to stay.against the nation’s largest utility, which has an estimated 16 million customers in central and Northern California.