
A more than 4,000 acre blaze last week which merged with the massive Dixie Fire, currently scorching the Sierra Nevada, may have been caused by a tree that fell on a PG&E power line, according to a report filed by the utility Monday night.
The Fly Fire began in the area of Butterfly Valley Twain Road and Highway 70 in Plumas County on July 22. It eventually consumed 4,300 acres and combined with the Dixie Fire a few days later.
PG&E and U.S. Forest Service officials on Monday moved and examined a tree that had fallen on one of the company’s power lines which served the area where the Fly Fire first sparked.
The utility is now cooperating with the Forest Service’s ongoing investigation into the incident.
The report stated that the data currently available does not establish cause for the Fly Fire and the information is preliminary.
It was not clear how far the tree was from the power line nor its original condition.
PG&E announced two weeks ago that it planned to bury 10,000 miles of power lines after it admitted potential culpability in igniting the Dixie Fire, which has become the 11th largest wildfire in California history.
The utility has been under heavy criticism over the last few years. Last June it plead guilty to 84 charges of manslaughter for its role in the 2018 Camp Fire, which devastated Paradise and happened just miles away from the Dixie Fire. The company also faces five felony and 28 misdemeanor charges in Sonoma County for its role in the 2019 Kincade Fire which burned 78,000 acres.
Just last week, Shasta County District Attorney’s office filed charges against PG&E and determining it was criminally liable for the Zogg Fire.