Camp Fire victims sue PG&E for causing massive blaze

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Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Firefighters work on a controlled burn at a wildfire, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Magalia, Calif.
AP Photo/John Locher

PARADISE, Calif. -- Victims of the Camp Fire, California's most destructive wildfire, have filed a lawsuit accusing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. of causing the massive blaze.

The suit filed Tuesday in state court in California accuses the utility of failing to maintain its infrastructure and properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines.

The utility's president said earlier the company doesn't know what caused the fire, but is cooperating with the investigation by state agencies.

An email to PG&E about the lawsuit was not immediately returned.

PG&E told state regulators last week that it experienced a problem with a transmission line in the area of the fire just before the blaze erupted.

A landowner near where the blaze began said PG&E notified her the day before the wildfire that crews needed to come onto her property because some wires were sparking.

Shares in PG&E are trading at their lowest level in more than a decade.

Shares in the San Francisco company plunged another 31 percent Wednesday, to $25.99. The have lost about 45 percent of their value since last week.

PG&E told state regulators last week that it experienced a problem on a transmission line just before the blaze erupted in the vicinity.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the blaze.