PG&E blamed for massive Northern California Dixie wildfire

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — State fire officials say Pacific Gas & Electric power lines sparked last summer’s Dixie Fire in Northern California that swept through five counties and burned more than 1,300 homes and other buildings.

Cal Fire said Tuesday that the blaze began last July after a tree hit electrical distribution lines in the Sierra Nevada. The fire burned nearly 1 million acres.

PG&E already had said its equipment may have been involved and its facing legal action for other fires. In 2019 it pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for a 2018 blaze that nearly destroyed the town of Paradise.