Cal Fire investigating if PG&E line caused Old Fire near Napa

Cal Fire is investigating whether a faulty Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power line is responsible for the 570-acre Old Fire that started Tuesday and continues to burn north of Napa.

The investigation was disclosed in an incident report PG&E filed Thursday with the California Public Utilities Commission.

Christopher Chow, a public information officer with the utilities commission, said Cal Fire will investigate the fire’s source and movement. His agency “conducts a staff investigation to assess the compliance of electric facilities with applicable rules and regulation.”

According to the report, Cal Fire requested PG&E submit fault data — a description of any potential problems — for lines within the fire’s point of origin.

Information shows a fault occurred within minutes of the Old Fire’s start time at 3:35 p.m. Tuesday near Old Soda Springs Road, about 6 miles north of Napa.

PG&E also reported that the area’s circuits had Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings to automatically cut power in high-risk areas whenever there’s an interruption like tree branches or animals hitting lines. The settings, however, were not activated because conditions did not meet EPSS criteria. They would include extremely dry conditions that make power line faults more likely to start fires.

This process was introduced last year but drew criticism from those who argued it led to multiple unnecessary outages.

In a statement Friday, PG&E officials said the report was filed “out of an abundance of caution” and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

“We are grateful to the first responders who are fighting this fire and making progress on its containment,” the statement said.

The fire grew to 570 acres Tuesday but has been stagnant ever since. Evacuations for 100 homes were issued Tuesday along a rural stretch of Old Soda Springs Road, then lifted Wednesday. Structures were threatened but none were destroyed. Area road closures ceased Thursday.

Containment of the fire was at 65% as of Friday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Firefighters continued Friday to mop up hot spots in remote areas of the fire, according to Erik Hernandez, a public information officer for Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Napa-Lake unit.

With favorable weather predicted throughout Friday and possible rain Saturday, “things are looking good so far,” he said.

The National Weather Service reported the North Bay could receive as much as a quarter inch of rain this weekend. Rain is expected to develop Saturday morning before heavier amounts fall overnight.

The Old Fire raged in an area that had been badly burned in the Atlas Fire, which started Oct. 8, 2017. That fire burned 51,624 acres of land, destroyed 120 structures and damaged 783 structures, according to Cal Fire. The blaze was also responsible for six fatalities, officials said.

Cal Fire investigators have blamed PG&E power equipment for igniting the Atlas Fire, as well as most of the catastrophic Northern California wildfires in the past four years, including the Nuns Fire in Sonoma County, the Redwood Fire in Mendocino County, the Camp Fire in Butte County, the Kincade Fire and Dixie Fire that burned across the northern Sierra Nevada in 2021.

In their statement, PG&E officials stressed they are taking measures to reduce the threat of wildfires.

“Our focus with our wildfire safety work is not just to address the climate risk that we’re facing now, but the climate risk that we’re going to be facing in the future,” the statement said. “This year, we are continuing to evolve our Community Wildfire Safety Program in order to strengthen and improve our electric system and keep customers safe.”

Press Democrat reporter Alana Minkler contributed to this story

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi

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