The federal judge overseeing the probation of Pacific Gas and Electric for convictions related to the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion in 2010 said the utility likely violated its probation by starting the Kincade Fire in 2019 and the Zogg Fire in 2020, which killed four people.
Judge William Alsup signed a petition on Nov. 10 submitted by a federal probation officer, who asked the judge for a summons for an “offender under supervision.” The officer cited charges by prosecutors in Sonoma and Shasta counties related to the Kincade and Zogg fires as evidence supporting the petition.
PG&E has not responded in court papers but said in a brief statement, “We’re aware of the court’s action and are currently reviewing.”
One of the conditions of PG&E’s probation is that it does not commit additional state or federal crimes.
Sonoma County prosecutors filed 33 criminal charges against PG&E on April 6 in connection with the Kincade Fire, a 78,000-acre blaze that injured six firefighters, destroyed 374 structures and led to mass evacuations. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) determined that a PG&E transmission line sparked the fire.
The complaint accused PG&E of committing five felonies and 28 misdemeanors, including “recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury” and a felony charge of emitting harmful airborne contaminants, injuring children. (See Prosecutors Charge PG&E for 2019 Kincade Fire.)
PG&E acknowledged its line started the fire but has contested the criminal charges.
In September, the Shasta County District Attorney’s office charged PG&E with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Zogg Fire. The blaze killed an 8-year-old girl and her 46-year-old mother, as well as a 79-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man. It burned more than 56,388 acres and destroyed 204 structures.
Cal Fire concluded in March that the Zogg fire began on Sept. 27, 2020, when a leaning gray pine tree fell onto a PG&E power line near in rural Shasta County. (See PG&E Equipment Started Zogg Fire, Investigation Finds.)
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said on Sept. 24 that the utility had accepted Cal Fire’s findings but denied criminal liability in the Zogg fire. “We did not commit a crime,” she said. The company is fighting the charges in court. (See PG&E Denies New Manslaughter Charges.)
Alsup, however, agreed with the federal probation officer that the charges for the Kincade and Zogg fires meant “there is probable cause to believe there has been a violation of the conditions of supervision” and said he would incorporate a charge of violating probation into future PG&E proceedings.
In such cases, federal law allows the court to extend a defendant’s probation, to add new terms, to revoke probation and resentence the defendant, or to do nothing. In prior instances when PG&E violated probation, Alsup has added new conditions related to vegetation management and equipment inspections, among other requirements, but has relented on more severe punishments.
PG&E’s five-year probation ends in January, and Alsup has vowed to do what he can to transform the utility’s safety culture before he loses authority.
Disasters caused by the utility’s equipment have killed at least 108 people since 2010, including 84 residents of Paradise, Calif., in the 2018 Camp Fire. The utility pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in that case.