California’s deadliest wildfire is currently being blamed on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Supposedly due to a faulty transmission tower that brought dangerous wires down, starting the fire.  

A civil complaint filed in San Fransisco Superior Court accused Pacific Gas and Electric Co. of failing to appropriately maintain a tower near Pulga, a small town in Butte County, allowing a charged wire to come loose and spark the deadliest wildfire in California’s history. According to the lawsuit, some of the utility towers in the are nearly a century old.  

“PG&E’s failure to properly inspect and maintain the tower led to damage to the tower jumper extension which in turn brought the uninsulated jumper into contact with the steel tower,” said the lawsuit. “Blazing hot molten materials dropped into the fine dead fuels below the conductor igniting the devastating Camp Fire.” 

The Camp Fire is currently California’s deadliest wildfire, leaving more than 250,000 acres of land and 13, 972 residences, 528 commercial, and 4,293 other buildings in rubble, according to Cal Fire, The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Not only were there 85 civilian casualties, and 3 firefighter injuries, (according to Cal Fire) but the entire town of Paradise was almost completely destroyed.