Equipment owned by California electrical utility Pacific Gas & Electric may have started a wildfire that has already burned at least 49 buildings and 34 square miles in the northern part of the state.
Last year, PG&E equipment was blamed for starting fires that burned out of control, and wildfires blazing in both Northern and Southern California are destroying homes across the state. After shutting off power for a half-million electrical customers, the utility on Thursday admitted that it did not de-energize a high-voltage transmission line near the source of the Northern California fire until after it malfunctioned and the fire erupted.
“I’m literally seeing sticks and fire of what used to be our home,” local resident Alejandro Corrales told KCBS-TV as she watched her home burn. “Everything in the house is gone,” Corrales said. “The panels on one of the pens where we have some rescued sheep was too hot for my daughter to open, and so she couldn’t let them out. So I’m probably sure that we lost them, too.”