The state was not in the clear yet: The Maria fire was still burning in Ventura County, and red-flag warnings were still in effect until Saturday evening. But firefighters had contained 20% of the 9,400-acre fire by the afternoon, and many residents were allowed back to their houses.
For power companies, the heat only continues to build. Southern California Edison, one of the state’s largest electric companies, disclosed on Friday that just 13 minutes before the Maria fire began, it had begun to return electricity to a nearby circuit after a power shut-off intended to prevent wildfires.
Ron Gales, a spokesman for the company, said that it was unclear whether the return of electricity was related to the fire but that the company had alerted a state regulator and would cooperate with any investigative agencies.
Politicians and residents have increasingly expressed outrage at power companies for sparking some of the state’s deadliest wildfires. That anger grew in recent weeks when the companies turned off power to millions of people to prevent starting more.
Southern California Edison’s chief executive, Pedro J. Pizarro, told investors on a telephone conference this past week that a preliminary investigation from the Ventura County Fire Department found that the company had most likely been responsible for the Woolsey fire last year. The blaze killed three people and destroyed more than 1,600 homes and businesses.
“Absent additional evidence, SCE believes it is likely that its equipment was associated with the ignition of the Woolsey fire,” Pizarro said on the call.
During several public safety shut-offs in October, Southern California Edison cut off electricity to more than 200,000 customers and Pacific Gas and Electric’s shut-offs put nearly a million customers in the dark, mostly in Northern California.
Despite those blackouts, the companies and fire investigators are reviewing whether the utilities’ equipment was responsible for a number of recent fires.
This article originally appeared in
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