“We accept CAL FIRE’s finding that a tree falling into our equipment started the fire, but we do not believe there was any criminal activity.” “Today we entered a formal not guilty plea to all charges in the 2020 Zogg Fire in Shasta County,” the company said in a statement. The district attorney determined that the company was criminally liable for the fire and charged the utility last September. The utility says the tree was subsequently cleared to stay. They say PG&E failed to remove the tree even though it had been marked for removal two years earlier. Shasta and Tehama counties have sued the utility, alleging negligence. Last year, state fire investigators concluded the fire was sparked by a gray pine tree that fell onto a PG&E distribution line. 27, 2020, and raged through rugged terrain and small communities west of Redding, killing four people, burning about 200 homes and blackening about 87 square miles (225 square kilometers) of land. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for January. PG&E was arraigned at a court in Redding on 31 criminal counts and enhancements, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, after being accused of recklessly starting the Zogg Fire, the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office said in a brief statement.
(AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric on Thursday pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges it faces after its equipment sparked a wildfire that killed four people and destroyed hundreds of homes in Northern California two years ago, prosecutors announced.
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