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Santa Barbara County Fire determine cause of Drum Fire

drum fire wideshot hills

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- Santa Barbara County Fire announced the cause of the Drum Fire from back in June.

Public Information Officer Daniel Bertucelli said Thursday morning the fire was caused by a Pacific Gas and Electric power line that failed and curved to the ground, sparking the fire.

PG&E released a statement on the cause Thursday afternoon saying:

"PG&E’s most important responsibility is the safety of our customers and the communities we serve. We are grateful to the first responders who fought the 2020 Drum Fire in Santa Barbara County and helped make sure that there were no injuries or fatalities and no reports of structures damaged or burned.   

While we are continuing to conduct our own investigation into the events that led to the Drum Fire, PG&E does not have access to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s report. PG&E filed an Electric Incident Report on this fire with the CPUC on June 14, 2020.  

At PG&E, we remain focused on reducing wildfire risk across our service area while also limiting the scope and duration of Public Safety Power Shutoffs."

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

The Drum Fire broke out on June 14 and burned near Highway 246 between Lompoc and Buellton.

Structures were immediately threatened and evacuations were ordered when the fire was at its peak.

In total, 696 acres were burned in the fire.

The fire was contained on June 17.

Article Topic Follows: Santa Barbara - South County

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Julia Nguyen

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