SDG&E’s Negligence Started Devastating Wildfires, Two Class Actions Claim

SAN DIEGO (CN) - A class-action complaint claims San Diego Gas & Electric Co. caused the devastating Witch Creek wildfire by failing to inspect and trim trees, brush and hazards near its power lines. The 198,000-acre Witch Creek fire destroyed 911 homes, 30 commercial buildings and 239 automobiles from Oct. 21 to Nov. 5 and "was caused by a power line owned and operated by SDG&E," the complaint states. A similar class-action complaint, also in Superior Court, blames SDG&E for the Rice Canyon fire, which burned 9,000 acres and destroyed 206 homes. See Witch Creek filing.

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