PG&E Arraigned On 33 Criminal Counts In Kincade Fire, DA Says

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Pacific Gas and Electric Company was arraigned Tuesday in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa on a 33-count criminal complaint accusing the company of recklessly causing the 2019 Kincade Fire, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said.

The wildfire, which started the night of Oct. 23, 2019, at the Geysers Geothermal Field northeast of Geyserville burned some 78,000 acres and destroyed 374 structures, including 174 homes.

Six firefighters were seriously injured battling the fire that resulted in the largest evacuation in the history of Sonoma County, including the entire towns of Healdsburg, Windsor and Geyserville, the DA's Office said.

According to Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch, Cal Fire investigators concluded the Kincade Fire was caused by a jumper cable on a PG&E transmission tower at the Geysers that broke in high winds, fell, and arced against the tower. The arc caused molten material to fall into vegetation and ignite below the tower. The subsequent wildfire was not fully contained for 15 days.

The criminal complaint filed in front of Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Mark Urioste charged PG&E with unlawfully causing a fire that resulted in great bodily injury, unlawfully causing a fire that resulted in the burning of inhabited structures, and unlawfully causing a fire that resulted in the burning of forest land, as well as various air pollution crimes.

In court Tuesday afternoon, PG&E announced it intends to file a demurrer to counts 11 through 33, which allege the company violated California's air pollution laws. A demurrer is most commonly used to argue that the facts as stated in the criminal complaint do not constitute a crime.

Earlier this month when the DA's Office announced it initiated charges against the utility company, PG&E said: "We not believe there was any crime here. We remain committed to making it right for all those impacted and working to further reduce wildfire risk on our system."

Following Tuesday's court appearance, PG&E issued this statement:

"We continue to be saddened for those who lost homes or businesses, and were personally impacted by the October 2019 Kincade fire, especially those who were injured, including several firefighters. We’ve previously stated we accept CAL FIRE’s finding that a PG&E transmission line cause the fire, but we do not believe there was any criminal activity. Today, we informed the court that we will file a motion by May 11, challenging the legal basis of a number but not all of the District Attorney’s charges. We remain committed to working to further reduce wildfire risk on our energy system."