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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.
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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.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)
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.
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)
“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.”
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