SAN JOSE, Calif. — PG&E’s response to the mammoth Dixie fire of 2021 was “excessively delayed,” a blunder that was a major factor behind the spread of the devastating inferno, according to a newly released state report.
The embattled utility was guilty of a “prolonged response” to an initial outage and power line fault, according to the report by the state forestry and fire protection department, also known as Cal Fire.
The fire, which started last July in the Feather River Canyon and burned for more than three months, scorched sections of Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta and Tehama counties and consumed 963,300 acres. It was the largest single wildfire in California history and the second-largest blaze of any kind in the state.
