Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

2 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

2 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

2 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

2 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

2 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

3 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

3 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
Prosecutors: Fires May Mean PG&E Violated Criminal Sentence
Randy-Reed-Image
By Randy Reed, Operations Manager
Published 7 years ago on
January 2, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric’s role in igniting wildfires last year could allow a judge to find that it violated terms of its criminal sentence in a 2010 gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people, federal prosecutors said Monday.
In a court filing, the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco said state investigations blamed PG&E power lines for some fires in October 2017. Investigators also found evidence that the utility violated state law.
“These facts, specifically if PG&E started a wildfire by reckless operation or maintenance of its power lines, may serve as a basis for the court to find that the defendant corporation violated” terms of its probation, prosecutors said.

PG&E Put on Probation in 2017

A U.S. judge in 2017 put PG&E on five years of probation following its conviction on pipeline safety charges stemming from an explosion of one of its pipelines in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Prosecutors’ filing came after a judge overseeing the pipeline case asked PG&E to explain any role it may have played in a massive wildfire last month that leveled the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least 86 people.
Investigators have not determined the cause of the wildfire that began Nov. 8, but speculation has centered on PG&E, which reported an outage around the time and place that the fire ignited.
The judge could impose new requirements on the utility if it’s found to have violated its probation in the pipeline case. The company already has been ordered to pay a $3 million fine, run television commercials publicizing its convictions and have an independent monitor oversee the safety of its gas pipeline system.

PG&E: Working on ‘Comprehensive’ Safety Solutions

PG&E said it is focused on assessing infrastructure to further improve safety and help protect customers from the “ever increasing” threat of wildfires.
“We are committed to working together with our state and community partners and across all sectors and disciplines to develop comprehensive safety solutions that provide safe, reliable gas and electric service to our customers in the future,” the utility said in a statement.
A judge could find PG&E violated terms of its probation that banned it from committing another crime and requiring that it implement an effective compliance and ethics program, prosecutors said in documents Monday.

State AG Says Manslaughter, Murder Charges Possible

The California attorney general told the judge Friday that PG&E could face charges as serious as involuntary manslaughter or murder if investigators determine that reckless operation or maintenance of power equipment caused any recent wildfires in the state.
The court filings came after Judge William Alsup said last month that he wanted to know whether any requirements in the utility’s criminal sentence “might be implicated” if PG&E equipment ignited a wildfire and what steps an independent monitor has taken to improve safety and reporting on power lines and fires.
Prosecutors said they did not yet have “sufficient information” about any role PG&E may have played in the Paradise fire or other fires this year to determine if the utility may have violated its probation.
They said that after wildfires in 2017, the monitor looked at the adequacy of PG&E’s vegetation management plan and how it maintains and inspects electric poles and other equipment. They did not elaborate on any possible findings of that review.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

DON'T MISS

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

DON'T MISS

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

DON'T MISS

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

DON'T MISS

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

DON'T MISS

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

DON'T MISS

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Logan Ryan Martin

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

37 minutes ago

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

1 hour ago

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

1 hour ago

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

1 hour ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

2 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Logan Ryan Martin

2 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

2 hours ago

Meta’s Instagram Down for Thousands of Users in US, Downdetector Shows

2 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

2 hours ago

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

A California Highway Patrol officer died early Wednesday after suffering a suspected medical emergency while on duty in West Los Angeles, au...

2 minutes ago

A California Highway Patrol officer died early Wednesday, July 2, 2025, after a suspected medical emergency caused his patrol vehicle to crash in Los Angeles. (CHP)
2 minutes ago

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 (REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
15 minutes ago

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

San Francisco Housing Development
34 minutes ago

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., September 13, 2023. (Reuters File)
37 minutes ago

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

1 hour ago

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

1 hour ago

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

A makeshift memorial for victims of the MS-13 gang in Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 28, 2017. Top gang leaders being sent back to El Salvador were part of a lengthy federal investigation that has amassed evidence of a corrupt pact between the government of President Nayib Bukele government and MS-13. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend