LOS ANGELES — As California prepares to enter the heart of wildfire season amid drought and historically dry conditions, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Friday that it has expanded its instant power line shutoffs to cover more high-risk areas.
The Northern California utility said its safety settings turn off power to a circuit "within one-tenth of a second" of a fault, such as a tree branch falling onto a line.
Such faults linked to PG&E equipment have sparked a series of recent massive wildfires, including last year's Dixie fire and the 2018 Camp fire, which led to felony manslaughter charges, millions of dollars in fines and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing meant to shield the company from tens of billions of dollars in potential liabilities.
