Butte County sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (“PG&E”) in California state court over the fire that ravaged the county and killed 86 people in November 2018.

The complaint explains a history of leaks, fires, and explosions surrounding PG&E’s facilities going back to 1981. PG&E has been subject to fines, penalties, and convictions over prior incidents but has done nothing to improve its aging infrastructure. Based on the multiple reports, audits, and investigations, it is clear that the Camp Fire resulted from PG&E’s lack of action to fix or improve its infrastructure.

The current lawsuit details 19 incidents before the Camp Fire, and was brought immediately after a federal judge in California asked PG&E to clarify its role in the October 2017 Northern California wildfires and a day after PG&E announced its plan to file for Chapter 11 to deal with the 2017 and 2018 wildfire claims. In the middle of January 2019, a California federal judge told PG&E to make its power lines safe or shut them off in high winds.