ADVERTISEMENT

PG&E Probation Judge Demands Information on Deadly Zogg Fire

PG&E Probation Judge Demands Information on Deadly Zogg Fire

PG&E Corp. was ordered by the judge overseeing its criminal probation to explain its “role in the ignition” of the Zogg Fire in northern California after the company said investigators are investigating its equipment as a possible cause of the the blaze that killed four people and burned more than 56,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup also directed the utility to disclose what kind of equipment was taken by investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and to describe the extent of “trimmed and untrimmed vegetation” in the area where the equipment was taken.

The San Francisco judge oversees the company’s probation stemming from a conviction for safety violations after a fatal gas-pipeline explosion in 2010. Alsup has previously faulted PG&E for falling behind on fire safety maintenance, including vegetation management.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.