PULGA, CA — Documents filed with the California Public Utilities Commission indicate that PG&E equipment may have started the Dixie Fire in the Feather River Canyon.
The fire has burned 30,074 acres and is 15% contained.
PG&E filed the documents Monday.
In the documents, PG&E reports the Cresta Dam off of Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon lost power around 7 a.m. on July 13. A PG&E employee responding to the outage notices a blown fuse uphill from where he was conducting his inspection.
PG&E says the terrain and road work in the area prevented the employee from accessing the area where the fuse was located until roughly 2:40 p.m. Once he arrived in the area the employee found a healthy looking tree leaning on the conductor and a fire nearby.
Cal Fire crews responded to the fire and had air attack on the fire by 5:30 p.m. Cal Fire investigators have collected the PG&E equipment as part of their investigation into the cause of the fire.
Listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
