Pines Salomon Personal Injury Lawyers | March 21, 2025 | Personal Injury
Pacific Gas & Electric plead guilty to 85 criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, for their role in starting California’s deadliest fire ever, the Camp Fire. According to National Public Radio, “Utility companies have been sued to bankruptcy over downed power lines that caused deadly wildfires…” Electric companies have actually started doing pre-emptive service outages during wildfire conditions.
Electrical power lines can cause wildfires when they spark. Something like a tree falling on a power line can lead to these deadly sparks. Likewise, poor maintenance and faults can also cause sparks. While the electric companies get fined millions of dollars for not correcting these dangers, the wildfires continue. In this post, get a San Diego wildfire attorney’s angle on three California wildfires: the Eaton Fire, the Dixie Fire, and the Thomas Fire.
Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)
California law does allow utility companies to shut off service under specific conditions. This is called a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) and is authorized during wildfire conditions: high temperatures, dry, windy, and low humidity.
Utility companies need permission from the California Public Utilities Commission to preemptively cut power. In certain urgent situations, permission may not be needed. However, there are state laws and procedures governing when a PSPS can be implemented, so they are not arbitrary.
The Eaton Fire in 2025
Numerous photos and videos showed that this deadly fire was started by Southern California Edison’s transmission lines in Eaton Canyon. Considering that there were already other fires blazing in the area at the time, the power line should have been deactivated. On top of that, many speculate that the Sites Fire in 2024 was also caused by a faulty electrical tower located in Eaton Canyon.
Los Angeles County, the City of Pasadena, and the City of Sierra Madre filed suit against the utility company for not having shut off the power at the time of the fire. The Eaton Fire burned 9,400 buildings and homes, as well as killed 17 people.
The Dixie Fire in 2021
Called California’s second-largest wildfire in history by CNN, the Dixie Fire torched 963,309 acres and 1,329 structures near Sacramento. This fire was caused by a tree falling onto Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) power lines. An investigation by Cal Fire determined that the wildfire was indeed caused by the power lines, not the falling tree. How? Electric companies are required by law to trim trees that are at risk of falling on their lines.
The Thomas Fire in 2017
This wildfire in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties burned for 40 days and tore through 281,000 acres. The Thomas Fire burned down 1,060 structures as well. It started when various power lines in the Upper Analauf Canyon collided with one another during a windstorm. This collision led sparks to ignite dry brush in the canyon. A few weeks after the fire was finally extinguished, mudslides through the burned areas destroyed over 100 houses.
Much like the mandate that electric companies cut back trees near power lines, they are also legally required to place power lines so they are unlikely to collide. Southern California Edison was sued for $1.16 billion for their negligence regarding the Thomas Fire.
Utility Companies Must Be Held Responsible
California can not continue to burn every summer. If the state is not going to punish utility companies, it lies in the hands of the citizens of California. What can you do? If you were impacted by a wildfire caused by Southern California Edison’s negligence, joining a lawsuit against them can send a strong message. For example, after the Dixie Fire, PG&E promised to bury 10,000 miles of their power lines safely underground.
A San Diego wildfire attorney can help you hit the utility companies where it hurts—in their wallets. Don’t let them get away with destroying communities and lives.
Contact the Personal Injury Lawyers of Pines Salomon Injury Lawyers in San Diego, CA, for Help Today
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