- Title: California wildfire victims sue utility PG&E alleging negligence
- Date: 15th November 2018
- Summary: PARADISE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 13, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS MOVING SHOTS FROM VEHICLE SHOWING DOWNED POWER LINES AND POWER COMPANY WORKING TO RESTORE POWER VIEW OF BURNED OUT CARS AND DESTROYED HOMES VACAVILLE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 14, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EVACUATED PARADISE RESIDENTS, HUSBAND AND WIFE LESLIE AND BRIAN BELL, WHO ARE STAYING IN A HOTEL WITH THEIR THREE DOGS AFTER THEIR HOME WAS DESTROYED IN THE "CAMP FIRE" (SOUNDBITE) (English) PLAINTIFF AND EVACUATED PARADISE RESIDENT, LESLIE BELL, 37-YEARS-OLD, SAYING: "I went to let the dogs out to go potty and noticed large embers falling from the sky two to three foot in diameter, no phone calls, power was still on." VARIOUS OF LESLIE BELL, WHO IS SEVEN MONTHS PREGNANT, STANDING WITH HER HUSBAND, BRIAN BELL, LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHS OF THEIR HOME WHICH WAS DESTROYED IN THE WILDFIRES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PLAINTIFF AND EVACUATED PARADISE RESIDENT, BRIAN BELL, 40-YEARS-OLD, SAYING: "I just have a couple of questions, you know I just want to know why that evacuation was such a failure, number one. And number two, who is responsible? You know, when our country gets attacked we don't wait a couple of days to find out what is going on. Once we know what is going on we go back and we respond to the people that, you know, caused this and that's what I'm doing. I'm the voice of the people at the shelter, you know, I am the voice for the people that, you know, don't have renters insurance and it's not a very rich community by any means but what we have we take pride in, you know (gets emotional), it's gone." PARADISE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 13, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DESTRUCTION IN THE TOWN OF PARADISE WITH BURNED OUT CARS AND DESTROYED HOMES VACAVILLE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 14, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PLAINTIFF RENDALL "RANDY" PARKERSON AND HIS 80-YEAR-OLD MOTHER, EDITH "IRENE" PARKERSON, SITTING AT A MOTEL LOOKING AT IMAGES OF THEIR DESTROYED HOME IN PARADISE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PLAINTIFF AND EVACUATED PARADISE RESIDENT, RENDALL PARKERSON, SAYING: "Huge flames coming up over the ridge, they were shooting up behind it, just coming up. I'm going oh my God, we've got to go through this stuff. So we went through, they got us through, all four lanes open, it was like midnight. We couldn't see nothing, we couldn't see in front of us, nothing." PARADISE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 13, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS MOVING SHOTS FROM VEHICLE SHOWING EXTENT OF DESTRUCTION IN PARADISE VACAVILLE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 14, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LAWYER REPRESENTING PLAINTIFFS, AMANDA RIDDLE, WHO IS A PARTNER AT THE LAW FIRM 'CORE, LUZIACH, DE GHETALDI & RIDDLE LLP,' SEATED MAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAWYER REPRESENTING PLAINTIFFS, AMANDA RIDDLE, WHO IS A PARTNER AT THE LAW FIRM 'CORE, LUZIACH, DE GHETALDI & RIDDLE LLP,' SAYING: "So we have filed a lawsuit on behalf of over 20 people and we have a number of other clients and we continue to be retained by victims of this fire. The allegation is that PG&E's equipment failed, that its transmission lines started this fire resulting in a massive fire, a massive disaster, the destruction of property, the destruction of people's lives and at this point countless deaths." PARADISE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 13, 2018) (REUTERS) VIEW OF DAMAGE IN THE TOWN OF PARADISE VACAVILLE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 14, 2018) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAWYER REPRESENTING PLAINTIFFS, AMANDA RIDDLE, WHO IS A PARTNER AT THE LAW FIRM 'CORE, LUZIACH, DE GHETALDI & RIDDLE LLP,' SAYING: "There was a power failure on a PG&E transmission line close to the Poe Dam, that is where the point of origin of this fire is. There are dispatch calls referring to lines down and vegetation fire."
- Embargoed: 29th November 2018 03:49
- Keywords: Paradise California PG&E wildfires power company electricity
- Location: PARADISE, VACAVILLE AND CHICO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: PARADISE, VACAVILLE AND CHICO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires
- Reuters ID: LVA00196M8ZLZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Victims of California's deadliest wildfire have filed a lawsuit against PG&E Corp alleging negligence and health and safety code violations by the utility company in the blaze that has killed at least 48 people.
The lawsuit seeking damages against California's largest public utility was filed on Tuesday (November 13) in San Francisco County Superior Court by three law firms.
"It's important to remember that the cause (of the "Camp Fire") has yet to be determined," PG&E said in a statement. "Right now, our primary focus is on the communities, supporting first responders and getting our crews positioned and ready to respond when we get access, so that we can safely restore gas and electricity to our customers."
But both PG&E and Southern California Edison have reported to regulators that they experienced problems with transmission lines or substations in areas around the time the blazes were first reported.
The Camp Fire, which began on November 8, has all but wiped out the Sierra foothills town of Paradise in Butte County, about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, that was overrun by flames and largely incinerated.
Plaintiffs Leslie and Brian Bell, who are expecting their first child in two months’ time, managed to evacuate from the town of Paradise just before it was consumed by flames. Their home was obliterated in the blaze and they are now seeking shelter at a hotel in a nearby town with their four dogs.
"I went to let the dogs out to go potty and noticed large embers falling from the sky two to three foot in diameter, no phone calls, power was still on," recalled Leslie Bell on Wednesday (November 14), about the moment she decided to evacuate the town just in the knick of time.
Leslie's husband Brian demanded answers from the authorities and PG&E about what caused the blaze.
"Who is responsible?" he asked.
"I'm the voice of the people at the shelter, you know, I am the voice for the people that, you know, don't have renters insurance and it's not a very rich community by any means but what we have we take pride in, you know (gets emotional), it's gone."
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit had similar stories.
Rendall "Randy" Parkerson and his 80-year-old mother, Edith "Irene" Parkerson, fled their mobile home just as Paradise was engulfed in flames. They are now living at a cheap motel in a nearby town.
"Huge flames coming up over the ridge, they were shooting up behind it, just coming up. I'm going oh my God, we've got to go through this stuff. So we went through, they got us through, all four lanes open, it was like midnight. We couldn't see nothing, we couldn't see in front of us, nothing," recalled Rendall of when he evacuated his mother and pets from Paradise.
The lawsuit alleges that PG&E failed to properly maintain, repair and replace its equipment and that "its inexcusable behavior contributed to the cause of the 'Camp Fire.'"
The lawsuit alleges that prior to the Camp Fire, PG&E began warning customers it might turn off power because of the high risk of wildfires.
"Despite its own recognition of these impending hazardous conditions, on the day of the Camp Fire's ignition, PG&E ultimately made the decision not to proceed with its plans for a power shutoff," the lawsuit stated.
Last month PG&E cut off electric power to about 60,000 customers to prevent wildfires as high winds threatened to topple trees and power lines.
Searchers looking for the remains of victims in the charred ruins of Paradise were set to expand their operation on Wednesday as firefighters stepped up efforts to contain the blaze.
The origins of the "Camp Fire" and the "Woolsey Fire" that has ravaged parts of southern California are still under investigation. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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