California utility company could face murder charges for role in deadly Camp Fire

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Louise Thomas

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A major utility company in California could face murder charges should it be found criminally liable for any of the recent deadly wildfires, according to the state’s attorney general.

The company, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), could be charged wit those serious crimes if it is determined that it acted with malice in the way that it operated and maintained equipment, court papers filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.

The filing came on Friday in Northern California’s federal district court, and follows a US district judge ordered PG&E to determine if it had played any role in starting the Camp Fire, which killed at least 88 people.

That judge, William Alsup, is overseeing a different case against PG&E in the wake of a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people and injured dozens more. That explosion occurred just south of San Francisco.

The utility company — the largest in the state — has acknowledged that its equipment could have potentially played a part in sparking the Camp Fire, according to a document obtained by CNBC last month.

The Camp Fire was the deadliest fire in the state’s history, beginning on 8 November. All told, the fire destroyed 240 square miles in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and destroyed almost the entire town of Paradise.

It is not certain that the company will face serious charges like murder, however, and prosecutors have indicated that they would need to probe the utility’s operations, maintenance, and safety practices.

During that time, prosecutors would need to determine that the company had committed a crime “with the requisite mental intent” before a charge like murder could arise.

Lesser charges could be filed if the company did not properly clear areas near power lines and poles, according to the court filing.