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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As California fire investigators officially concluded that the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century was caused by Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. power lines, lawmakers expressed deep skepticism about whether the utility had made the dramatic changes needed to prevent another deadly blaze.
The company's new chief executive, Bill Johnson, made his first appearance before lawmakers Wednesday, who peppered him with questions on his plan to lead the troubled utility.
"We shouldn't have to be reliving this," said Democratic Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes. "We need to know what the lessons learned are."
State fire officials said transmission lines owned and operated by the San Francisco-based utility started the Nov. 8 fire that wiped out nearly 15,000 homes in the town of Paradise. Many of those killed were elderly or disabled; the oldest was 99.
"Investigators determined there were violations of law," Cal Fire deputy director Mike Mohler said relating to Wednesday's report, but he said he hadn't read the report and didn't know the nature of the violations.
Cal Fire did not release its full investigative report, saying it had been forwarded to the Butte County district attorney's office, which is considering criminal charges against the utility.
Johnson said he expected when he began the job two weeks ago that PG&E would be found responsible for sparking the wildfire, noting the utility had said it was probable in recent filings.
"It's a disappointment that this happened," he said. "Let's not do it again."
Credit: McClatchy/Producer: Jayson Chesler
He takes the helm both as California prepares for another wildfire season and as PG&E is in the midst of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The utility filed in January as it faced potentially tens of billions of dollars in liability from wildfires. California law makes utilities financially liable for damages from wildfires sparked by its equipment, and PG&E is already facing lawsuits from insurance companies and wildfire victims from the Paradise fire.
State fire officials have determined that PG&E caused 18 fires in 2017, and they referred 12 for possible criminal prosecution.
In preparation for the upcoming fire season, Johnson said the utility has begun inspecting every one of its power and transmission lines, a process that could cost $600 to $900 million including repairs. It's also proposed a dramatic expansion of planned electrical outages.
The findings Wednesday bring "even greater urgency to our need to inspect, repair, have a power safety shut off plan," Johnson told reporters after the legislative hearing.