A California prosecutor this week file d 33 criminal charges against Pacific Gas & Electric for a 2019 wildfire that officials blamed on the utility. The company is accused of injuring six firefighters and endangering public health with smoke and ash.
The company denied that it committed any crimes even as it accepted that its transmission line sparked the blaze.
Sonoma County officials charged the utility with five felony and 28 misdemeanor counts in the October 2019 Kincade Fire. The fire burned more than 120 square miles (311 sq. km.)and destroyed 374 buildings.
The utility said it had not yet seen the report or evidence gathered by state fire investigators, but it will accept the finding that its transmission line caused the fire “in the spirit of working to do what’s right for the victims.”
The company thanked firefighters, including those who were injured, and said it was grateful that no one died in the mammoth blaze.
