Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
PG&E Admits It May Have Ignited Sonoma Fire
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
October 25, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — Pacific Gas & Electric admitted its electrical equipment may have ignited a ruinous wildfire spreading across the California wine country, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent blazes.
The disclosure came as firefighters simultaneously battled flames in both Northern and Southern California: the fire amid Sonoma County’s vineyards, and a wind-whipped blaze that destroyed homes near Los Angeles.
The fire near the Northern California town of Geyserville burned at least 49 buildings and 34 square miles and prompted evacuation orders for some 2,000 people.
It was whipped up by the strong winds that had prompted PG&E to impose sweeping blackouts affecting a half-million people in Northern and Central California. Power was restored to most people by Thursday evening, the utility said.
The power shut-offs were imposed after PG&E electrical equipment was blamed for several blazes in recent years that killed scores of people and burned thousands of homes.
However, PG&E said Thursday it didn’t 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.

Photo of a resident covering his face as he is evacuated
A resident covers his face as he is evacuated as a wildfire approaches Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Firefighters on the Ground and in the Air Struggled to Protect Homes

PG&E CEO Bill Johnson said it was too soon to know if the faulty equipment ignited the fire. He said the tower had been inspected four times in the past two years and appeared to have been in excellent condition.
In shutting off the electricity, PG&E cut power to the distribution lines that supply homes, but not to its long-distance transmission lines.

“I’m literally seeing sticks and fire of what used to be our home.” — Alejandro Corrales
Meanwhile, more than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders in the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles as hot, dry Santa Ana winds howling at up to 50 mph drove the flames into neighborhoods. At least six homes were burned. No immediate injuries were reported.
Firefighters on the ground and in the air struggled to protect homes surrounded by trees and brush as the wind-driven fire there grew to 4,300 acres.
In some places, they failed. As hot embers flew, subdivision homes and rural ranch properties were damaged or destroyed in the Canyon Country area of Santa Clarita and in nearby Castaic.
Alejandro Corrales tearfully watched her home burn on a ridge in Canyon Country, taking with it her mother’s ashes, other belongings and possibly a pen full of pet sheep.
“I’m literally seeing sticks and fire of what used to be our home,” she told KCBS-TV.
Photo of firefighter in a ravaged home
A firefighter works the scene of a wildfire-ravaged home Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. Fast-growing fires across California have forced thousands of people to evacuate as dry winds and high heat feed the flames. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Some Residents Tried to Fight the Blaze With Garden Hoses

“Everything in the house is gone,” Corrales said. “The panels on one of the pens where we have some rescued sheep was too hot for my daughter to open, and so she couldn’t let them out. … So I’m probably sure that we lost them, too.”

“Everything in the house is gone. The panels on one of the pens where we have some rescued sheep was too hot for my daughter to open, and so she couldn’t let them out. … So I’m probably sure that we lost them, too.” — Alejandro Corrales
Some residents tried to fight the blaze with garden hoses. People rushed to rescue dozens of horses, donkeys, goats, a pig and an emu.
Officials said a firefighting helicopter was grounded after its windshield was damaged by a collision with a bird.
High winds were expected to continue through the morning and taper off by late afternoon. Southern California Edison, which shut off electricity to more than 31,000 customers on Thursday, was considering additional power cuts to more than 386,000.
The huge Los Angeles school district closed all its schools in the San Fernando Valley, citing poor air quality and other safety concerns.
While the high winds in Northern California had died down by Friday, they were expected to pick up over the weekend, with gusts of 40 to 60 mph in many places, and PG&E warned it may black out an even larger region.
PG&E chief meteorologist Scott Strenfel said Northern California could be in for the strongest offshore winds in years.

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

Paul Atkins Sworn in as US SEC Chair

DON'T MISS

UnitedHealth Spent $1.7 Million on Executive Security in 2024, Filing Shows

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold Obamacare’s Preventive Care Coverage Mandate

DON'T MISS

Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

DON'T MISS

California Prisoner Indicted for Exploiting Child Victim While Incarcerated

DON'T MISS

Kennedy Plans to Phase Out 8 Commonly Used Food Dyes

DON'T MISS

The Superintendent Search Document FUSD Does Not Want You to See

DON'T MISS

Trump Approval Rating Dips. Many Wary of His Wielding of Power, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman, Tied to Fentanyl ‘M30 King,’ Sentenced to Federal Prison

DON'T MISS

Tesla Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claiming Sudden Acceleration in Ohio Crash

UP NEXT

Trump Is Dismantling the Education Dept. How That Might Harm Special Ed

UP NEXT

Special Interests Pour More Than Half a Billion Into CA Lobbying

UP NEXT

Steeply Discounted OD-Reversal Medicine Now Available to Any Californian

UP NEXT

Chargers in Need of Help at Wide Receiver and Tight End in the NFL Draft

UP NEXT

Magic Happens When Kids and Adults Learn to Swim. Tragedy Can Strike if They Don’t.

UP NEXT

AI ‘Friend’ for Public School Students Falls Flat

UP NEXT

Progressive Icon and Ex-US Rep. Barbara Lee Wins Race for Mayor of Oakland

UP NEXT

Humanoid Robots Run a Chinese Half-Marathon Alongside Human Competitors

UP NEXT

Bakersfield Push to Restore Kern River Seeks to Revitalize City

UP NEXT

Anti-Trump Protesters Turn Out to Rallies Across Country

Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

2 hours ago

California Prisoner Indicted for Exploiting Child Victim While Incarcerated

2 hours ago

Kennedy Plans to Phase Out 8 Commonly Used Food Dyes

2 hours ago

The Superintendent Search Document FUSD Does Not Want You to See

2 hours ago

Trump Approval Rating Dips. Many Wary of His Wielding of Power, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

2 hours ago

Fresno Woman, Tied to Fentanyl ‘M30 King,’ Sentenced to Federal Prison

3 hours ago

Tesla Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claiming Sudden Acceleration in Ohio Crash

3 hours ago

Trump Is Dismantling the Education Dept. How That Might Harm Special Ed

3 hours ago

Special Interests Pour More Than Half a Billion Into CA Lobbying

4 hours ago

Texas Walmart Shooter Who Killed 23 Avoids Death Penalty by Pleading Guilty

4 hours ago

Paul Atkins Sworn in as US SEC Chair

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Paul Atkins, who previously served as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member from 2002 to 2008 and wa...

6 minutes ago

CEO of Patomak Global Partners Paul Atkins takes part in a strategic and policy CEO discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Eisenhower Execution Office Building in Washington, U.S., April 11, 2017. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo)
6 minutes ago

Paul Atkins Sworn in as US SEC Chair

The corporate logo of the UnitedHealth Group appears on the side of one of their office buildings in Santa Ana, California, U.S., April 13, 2020. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
28 minutes ago

UnitedHealth Spent $1.7 Million on Executive Security in 2024, Filing Shows

2 hours ago

US Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold Obamacare’s Preventive Care Coverage Mandate

Pilar Rose, 51, formerly of Fresno, pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstructing an IRS audit, agreeing to forfeit her mansion and BMW after falsifying financial records to evade taxes and secure fraudulent loans. (Zillow)
2 hours ago

Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

Nathaniel Ray Diaz, 21, of Greenfield, is a California state prisoner who has been indicted on federal charges on Monday, April 21, 2025, for allegedly directing a minor to send sexually explicit images while serving time for previous offenses against the same child. (Shutterstock)
2 hours ago

California Prisoner Indicted for Exploiting Child Victim While Incarcerated

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a news conference about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest autism survey in Washington, April 16, 2025. In his first attempt to significantly change the nation’s food supply, Kennedy will direct food manufacturers to phase out eight petroleum-based food dyes that are found in hundreds of thousands of grocery-store staples, the department said on Monday, April 21. (Pete Kiehart/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Kennedy Plans to Phase Out 8 Commonly Used Food Dyes

2 hours ago

The Superintendent Search Document FUSD Does Not Want You to See

President Donald Trump attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
2 hours ago

Trump Approval Rating Dips. Many Wary of His Wielding of Power, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

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

Search

Send this to a friend