A sprawling Northern California wildfire has now destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, crossing a key threshold that puts PG&E Corp. at risk of heightened regulatory scrutiny and ultimately could set the utility further down a path toward a state takeover, Bloomberg News reported. The Dixie Fire, which PG&E says may have been sparked by its equipment, is the second-largest blaze in state history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. If PG&E is found to have started it, the number of burned buildings is now high enough to allow regulators to place the utility into the second level of a six-step enforcement process that could lead to a state takeover for repeated safety violations. It could take months for state officials to determine whether PG&E caused the fire, considering the blaze is only 30% contained. For the utility to be placed into the next level of enforcement, regulators would also need to find that it didn’t follow state rules or prudent management practices. There would be multiple opportunities for the company to correct course before even reaching higher enforcement levels, let alone losing its license to operate. The California Public Utilities Commission has made no findings or opened any proceedings related to the Dixie Fire, PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said in a statement.
