While PG&E fire liability has not been determined in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, a judge has reportedly set a trial date of Jan. 7, 2020, for frail and elderly victims of that fire.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Teri Jackson also denied PG&E’s request to move the case to Sonoma County, which is where the fire occurred. Judge Jackson said the case needs to remain in San Francisco to “get this done expeditiously and efficiently and get to the core issue of causation.”

PG&E, short for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., has been in bankruptcy since January and has until June 30, 2020, to emerge in order to use California’s new $21 billion wildfire-protection fund.

The Tubbs Fire began Oct. 8, 2017, according to a local ABC News affiliate. A total of 22 people died and more than 5,600 homes and buildings burned in Sonoma and Napa counties,  the state’s leading wine country.

Cal Fire released a report in January of this year that said the Tubbs Fire started because of a private electrical equipment problem on a private property located in Calistoga.

According to an interview with Sacramento’s ABC affiliate, though, Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit Battalion Chief John Martinez says the precise cause of the fire was never determined.

PG&E Fire Liability Suspected in Tubbs Fire

Attorneys representing victims of the Tubbs Fire plan to present evidence of PG&E fire liability. The evidence allegedly includes pictures of damaged copper wires that are reportedly responsible for a spark on an electrical line conductor that was near the private Calistoga home, but was not on that person’s property.

A winery’s security system purportedly filmed the spark at 9:20 p.m., which lawyers argue would have cut the power to the Calistoga home that Cal Fire says was responsible for igniting the blaze. Without active electricity at that home, no electrical fire could have started there.

Cal Fire’s report does mention the video — found on the Bennett Lane Winery security system — but does not mention any electrical disturbance.

While PG&E’s bankruptcy proceedings halted pending litigation against the utility, a federal bankruptcy judge ordered that the Tubbs Fire plaintiffs’ lawsuit could go forward because determining whether or not PG&E had a role in the start of the fire could have an enormous impact on the company’s financial obligations.

The Sacramento Bee reported on Sept. 19 that PG&E customers will experience rate hikes starting next month, in great part because of the fires of the last several years.

Electric bills will increase by an average of $3.07 per month and natural gas bills will jump by $1.73 per month, according to PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty. The increases will become effective Oct. 1 and were approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.

PG&E has already submitted another rate increase request to the Commission, which would raise rates another $10.57 per month, on average, in 2020. PG&E insists a greater part of those fees would be used to reduce wildfire risks in the state.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.