California's Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Company said their very own electric lines might have caused the wildfires over the weekend in Lafayette, including the incident which razed the Lafayette Tennis Club building to the ground. The company informed California Public Utilities Commission on Monday.
The fires detailed in PG&E reports to state regulators match the blazes, which destroyed a tennis court and forced residents to evacuate from Lafayette. The utility company said the area was not designated as a high fire risk. Strong, powerful gusts drove off multiple fires over California and forced power shutoffs meant to prevent blazes.
More than 900,000 power customers - or an estimated 2.5 million people - in PG&E's jurisdiction in northern and central California remained in the dark during the latest planned shutoff. Less than half of them had their electricity service back by Monday evening. However, some 1.5 million people in 29 counties will be affected with more shutoffs starting Tuesday due to another expected round of strong winds, the utility company said.
Southern California Edison likewise cut off power to 25,000 customers. It warned the consumers of impending shutdown of electric services for about 350,000 people as Santa Ana winds return midweek.
Power and communication line contact caused the fire – PG&E
Firefighters deemed a contact between a power line and a communication line when a PG&E worker responded to the first fire at Pleasant Hill and Condit Roads. The report stated that the worker also observed a broken piece of PG&E equipment at the scene.
A worker went to the other fire scene at Camino Diablo Road about an hour later. The mechanic was informed that firefighters are investigating a transformer as a possible ignition source.
The report stated the PG&E worker found a fallen power pole and transformer. ABC-7 News captured video of that downed power pole along Camino Diablo Road.
The ABC7 News I-team also checked if these locations were involved in this weekend's public safety power shutoffs. PG&E website said the two sites are just outside the shutoff zone.
PG&E is reportedly under critical financial trouble after its equipment was blamed for several destructive wildfires during the past three years. On Monday, their stock dropped at 24 percent to close at US$ 3.80 which translates to losses of more than 50 percent since Thursday.
The company reported last week that a transmission tower might have caused a Sonoma County fire which also forced approximately 200,000 people out of their homes. Workers found 43 cases of wind-related damage to power lines, transformers, and other pieces of electric equipment after the outage.
PG&E separately told the regulators that it failed to inform 23,000 customers, including 500 with medical conditions, before cutting off their power this month during the windy weather.
Power companies are required to notify customers before planned blackouts and work extra closely with those with medical problems, which may not be capable of handling long periods without air conditioning or may need electricity to run medical devices.
The power utility explained that some of their clients had no contact information on file. However, others were incorrectly thought to be getting electricity. PG&E spokeswoman Jennifer Robison said the firm is working with independent living centers to determine how best to deal with people with disabilities.
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