The October 2007 San Diego Fires
In October 2007 fires destroyed thousands of homes and forced half a million San Diego residents to flee in the largest mass evacuation in California history. Power lines owned and operated by San Diego Gas & Electric Co. started three of the fires, the Witch Creek fire, the Guejito fire, and the Rice Canyon fire.
For over a week, the fires scorched hundreds of thousands of acres causing the deaths of two residents and injuring forty-five firefighters. Government investigations were launched in the aftermath of the fires. Investigators concluded the Witch fire, the Guejito fire, and the Rice fire were started by faulty and improperly maintained power and communication lines, owned and operated by SDG&E and Cox Communications.
The fire investigators issued comprehensive reports with hundreds of photographs, witness statements and physical evidence to support their findings. The investigators eliminated all other causes for the fires.
The Witch Creek Fire
The Witch Creek fire started in Witch Creek Canyon, near Santa Ysabel and Ramona in northeastern San Diego County. Arcing SDG&E power lines caused the Witch Creek fire.
Over three hours before SDG&E’s power lines started the Witch Creek fire, SDG&E received its first warning something was wrong with its power line in the Witch Creek area. Despite Santa Ana weather conditions and a National Weather Service Red Flag warning, SDG&E did nothing to investigate the warning.
An hour before the Witch Creek fire started, SDG&E received its second warning something was wrong with its power line in the Witch Creek area. SDG&E again failed to investigate the warning.
SDG&E received a third warning minutes before the Witch Creek fire started. SDG&E finally de-energized the line after the fourth warning — three hours after the Witch Creek fire started.
An investigating officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection wrote, “During my investigation into the origin of the Witch fire, I eliminated all other causes for the fire, determining the cause to be power lines.” The Cal Fire report found SDG&E Tie Line #637 “is the line determined to be the cause of the Witch Fire.”
The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) reached the same conclusion after it investigated the 2007 wildfires. The PUC report concluded:
The Guejito Fire
The Guejito fire started in San Pascual Valley. A Cal Fire report found the Guejito fire “started when (SDG&E’s) energized power lines and lashing wire from a Cox Communications cable came into contact with each other.” Witnesses described seeing a “light show” from the colliding and arcing Cox lines and SDG&E power lines. The investigation ruled out any other cause for the fire.
The PUC determined Cox had failed to inspect its equipment and facilities for more than seven years. The PUC further concluded the Guejito fire was started by Cox:
The Rice Fire
SDG&E’s improper maintenance of power lines also caused the October 2007 Rice Canyon fire near Fallbrook in San Diego County. In Cal Fire’s report, an investigator wrote, “During the course of the investigation I eliminated all other causes for the fire, determining the Rice fire to be a power line caused fire.”
The Rice fire started when a limb from a sycamore tree broke and fell through an overhead power conductor. The PUC report found “SDG&E’s tree trimming contractor (Davey Tree) had inspected the tree which caused the fire, and had determined the tree should be trimmed within three months from the time of the inspection. SDG&E failed to trim the tree within the three-month time frame.” The report concluded, “the sycamore tree, from which the broken limb fell, should have been trimmed before October 22, 2007,” the date the fire started.
Only after the Rice fire had destroyed homes and property did SDG&E respond. Just one day after the fires started, on October 23, 2007, SDG&E personnel requested Davey Tree to return and to “trim the tree below the assumed height of the wire,” the PUC’s report explains. The investigations later determined the tree had been cut to two two-thirds of its original height.
Our firm represents families whose homes and businesses were destroyed during the October 2007 San Diego fires. Please contact us if you have questions about these cases.