Pacific Gas & Electric Co. could be prosecuted for murder, manslaughter or lesser criminal charges if investigators determine that “reckless operation” of its power equipment caused any of Northern California’s deadly wildfires in the past two years, California’s attorney general says.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in an opinion submitted to a federal judge overseeing the criminal case following PG&E’s fatal 2010 natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, outlined a variety of scenarios under which the embattled utility could face criminal charges in the Camp Fire or other deadly blazes since 2017.
The legal brief submitted by Becerra’s office said prosecutors would have to gauge PG&E’s “mental state” before determining which charges, if any, to bring. The charges would range from murder to a misdemeanor negligence charge, according to the brief.
Becerra’s opinion underscores the mounting problems facing PG&E, which could be liable for billions of dollars
in civil damages in connection with the Camp Fire and the flurry of
deadly fires in the wine country and elsewhere in Northern California in
late 2017. Cal Fire has determined that PG&E likely broke state law in
connection with 12 of the 2017 fires, and is investigating the utility’s
possible role in the Camp Fire. The Nov. 8 wildfire killed 86 people in
the Paradise area, more than any other fire in California history. In
disclosures to the state Public Utilities Commission, PG&E has acknowledged significant problems occurred on a transmission tower near the site where the Camp Fire is believed to have started...MORE
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