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CAL FIRE said Thursday Pacific Gas and Electric Company's electrical lines are responsible for igniting last year's destructive Kincade Fire in Sonoma County.
The fire burned nearly 78,000 acres and destroyed 374 structures.
In May 2019, CAL FIRE announced similar findings in the deadly 2018 Camp Fire. That fire killed 85 people and destroyed 18,804 structures. Last month, PG&E CEO Bill Johnson pleaded guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the Camp Fire.
The troubled utility also pleaded guilty to one felony count of unlawfully starting a fire as part of an agreement with the state.
Attorney Jack Weaver has filed the first lawsuit against PG&E on behalf of a Kincade fire victim and more are expected to follow.
"It really will be up to PG&E to decide what they want to do," Weaver said. "We would certainly listen if they wanted to try and work an early compromise provided that it got everybody fair compensation."
But, the estimated civil penalties are not expected to be nearly as high as penalties PG&E faced following the Tubbs Fire.
"They have $400 million worth of insurance to cover the 2019 fire season and we’re estimating that the losses are probably in the $500 million range," said attorney Roy Miller, who is representing some fire victims. "So it’s not going to be something that was disastrous for the company like the 2017 and (2018) fires were."
There have been about 1,000 claims filed in response to the Kincade Fire, compared to 70,000 claims connected to the Tubbs Fire.
In a statement to KCBS Radio late Thursday, PG&E said: "We appreciate all the heroic efforts of the first responders who fought the 2019 Kincade Fire, helped local citizens evacuate and made sure no one perished in the fire. We are aware of CAL FIRE's news release stating that PG&E facilities caused the fire. At this time, we do not have access to CAL FIRE's investigative report or the evidence it has collected. We look forward to reviewing both at the appropriate time."