Cal Fire Clears PG&E of Liability for Napa Fire, Blaming a Private Electrical Facility Instead

Sacramento - Cal Fire has essentially exonerated Pacific Gas & Electric from liability for the fire that destroyed parts of Napa, California.

This xould mean that PG&E, the State's largest utility, will not have to declare bankruptcy, as it told shareholders it would probably do this year.

CAL FIRE says the Tubbs Fire, which occurred during the October "2017 Fire Siege," was caused by a private electrical system adjacent to a residential structure. CAL FIRE investigators did not identify any violations of state law, Public Resources Code, related to the cause of this fire.

The residents of Paradise, many of who lost their homes in the worst fire in a century in the US, are thus denied a deep pocket to sue. It is unlikely that many of them will ever fully recover their losses from insurers.

The Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County started on the evening of October 8th, 2017 and burned a total of 36,807 acres. Destroying 5,636 structures and resulting in 22 civilian fatalities and one firefighter injury.

In total, the October 2017 Fire Siege involved more than 170 fires and burned at least 245,000 acres in Northern California. Approximately 11,000 firefighters from 17 states and Australia helped battle the blazes, said CalFire in a press release.