PG&E Claims Private Power Line Sparked Tubbs Fire
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- In a legal filing, PG&E claims that the deadly and destructive Tubbs Fire which reduced dozens of homes in two Santa Rosa neighborhoods to piles of ash last month was sparked by a private power line.
The utility has had several lawsuits filed against it by fire victims, who claim PG&E power lines and negligence led to the blazes. However, state and federal investigators have yet to determine a cause for any of the fires in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
The Tubbs fire was the most deadly and destructive of the more than a dozen wildfires that roared to life in the counties between Oct. 8th and Oct. 13th.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the utility company filing says that "preliminary investigations suggest that this fire (the Tubbs Fire) might have been caused by electrical equipment that was owned, installed and maintained by a third party."
Spokesmen for both the California Department Of Forestry and Cal Fire said they did not know where the utility company had gotten its information.
When the Chronicle contacted PG&E for further information, utility spokesman Keith Stephens said: "Our motion speaks for itself."