PG&E Power Line Hooks Were Wrapped in Tape, Fire Victims Say

A recent inspection of a PG&E Corp. transmission line uncovered equipment issues similar to those cited as the cause of the deadliest blaze in California history, according to lawyers for wildfire victims, Bloomberg News reported. During a December inspection, an expert for the attorneys photographed worn and rusted c-hooks on a transmission line near the Caribou-Palermo line in Northern California’s Sierra foothills, the official committee representing fire victims in PG&E’s bankruptcy said in a statement. That’s the same line that failed and sparked the 2018 Camp Fire. Some of the hooks on the Cresta-Rio Oso line “appeared to be held together by black electrical tape,” the committee said. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who oversees the utility’s criminal probation, has ordered the company to be prepared to address the findings at a hearing on Feb. 19. California investigators concluded last year that a worn c-hook on the Caribou-Palermo line broke and ignited the Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people. State regulators said that PG&E could have prevented the catastrophic blaze if it had conducted proper inspections and repairs on the line.