PG&E Chose Not to Cut Power as Winds Raged Before Fatal Fire
- Report filed with California shows steps taken before blaze
- Utility warned customers it may shut electricity but didn’t
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In the days before California’s deadliest wildfire erupted near a PG&E Corp. power line during a windstorm, the company kept a close eye on the weather, warned customers it might shut off electricity in the area, and finally decided conditions weren’t bad enough to warrant it, according to a report filed Tuesday with state regulators.
The report from PG&E also shows that the giant utility company made its final decision not to cut electricity more than six hours after the Camp Fire began on Nov. 8 in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Butte County. Pushed by strong winds, the fire leveled the town of Paradise, killing at least 88 people.