California’s massive Dixie Fire ignited after tree fell on PG&E electrical lines, officials say

In a statement, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said investigators determined the tree was located west of a dam in Plumas County, about 100 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Cal Fire called its investigation into the Dixie Fire “meticulous and thorough” and said it had forwarded its report to the district attorney’s office in Butte County, where the fire began.

The Dixie Fire exploded in July, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes amid powerful winds and extreme drought conditions. The small town of Greenville was incinerated and one person died in the blaze, which roared across 963,309 acres before it was extinguished on Oct. 25.

The fire was second largest on record after the August Complex, a wildfire that scorched more than 1 million acres in 2020.

Pacific Gas & Electric did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An arborist for the utility said in September that the 70-foot Douglas fir that appears to have started the Dixie Fire showed signs of rot at its base, NBC Bay Area reported.

Matteo Garbelotto, a forest pathologist at the University of California Berkeley, told the station that said such rot is becoming increasingly common in the state’s overgrown forests, as a drought exacerbated by climate change pushes dense trees to compete with one another for water.

That added stress makes trees less resistant to rot, Garbelotto said.

State rules require the utility to remove dead, diseased and dying trees that could fall into a power line. 

PG&E pleaded guilty last year to 84 counts of manslaughter in the state’s deadliest wildfire, the Camp Fire, and is on probation for a 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people.

Tuesday's finding from fire investigators comes as a federal judge overseeing the utility's probation said he would consider extending it amid criminal charges in two other fires, including last year's deadly Zogg Fire.

The company has denied criminal liability in that fire, saying it was "heartbreaking" and that it was resolving civil claims with victims and their families.