PG&E : January 17, 2019 – Court Request For Comment

Case 3:14-cr-00175-WHA Document 970 Filed 01/17/19 Page 1 of 1

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

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No. CR 14-00175 WHA

UnitedStatesDistrictCourt

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Plaintiff, v.

FortheNorthernDistrictofCalifornia

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REQUEST FOR COMMENT

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PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY,

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Defendant.

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After a study of the materials provided by PG&E, the Court tentatively finds that the single most recurring cause of the large 2017 and 2018 wildfires attributable to PG&E's equipment has been the susceptibility of PG&E's distribution lines to trees or limbs falling onto them during high-wind events. This has most often occurred in rural areas where distribution lines use thirty-five to fifty-foot single poles and run through grass, brush, oak and pines. The power conductors are almost always uninsulated. When the conductors are pushed together by falling trees or limbs, electrical sparks drop into the vegetation below. During the wildfire season when the vegetation is dry, these electrical sparks pose an extreme danger of igniting a wildfire. ByJANUARY23, all parties shall comment on the accuracy of this tentative finding. The parties must also be prepared to discuss this tentative finding at the January 30 hearing.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: January 17, 2019.

WILLIAMALSUP

UNITEDSTATESDISTRICTJUDGE