This electrical conduction from the bare power line down the tree trunk to earth appears to have been the source of ignition for this wildfire. This process intensified the power of electrical conduction to earth. Carbon is a conductor of electricity. Heat from a powerful electrical fault will burn wood and convert it into charred material over time, thus making this material more conductive of electricity. Our speculation for the direct cause of this fire ignition, is that over a period of hours the electrical fault current intensified as the wood of the tree became charred and carbonized by the flow of 12,000 volt electricity. Photos displayed by ABC10 Sacramento in their “Fire – Power – Money” series, showed that a fir tree with a damaged core leaned into contact with at least one of the three uninsulated small cables in this circuit. None of these cables broke. If these cables had been fully insulated there would probably have been no Dixie Fire as long as this problem had been discovered soon. The process of fire ignition began as electricity flowed down the tree to earth creating a phase to earth electrical fault. The following speculative conclusions are based upon CalFire and CPUC reports sourced from PG&E to these two agencies, and also from witness statements taken by Federal Judge William Alsup. CalFire has not released their report to the public. We do not presume to have complete information. What follows is our supposition for the events that started the Dixie Fire. The Fly Fire that began on July 22 and later merged with the Dixie Fire was also the subject of a PG&E report to the CPUC indicating that this fire may also have been ignited by a power circuit. The Dixie Fire was by far the largest fire in the 105 year history of the park.Ī CA Public Utilities Commission report and CalFire both stated that PG&E became aware of a power failure around 7 AM on July 13th, when the electrical supply failed at their Cresta Dam hydropower station. This hydropower-dam site receives its operating electricity from the PG&E Bucks Creek power circuit. Media reports indicate more than half of Lassen Volcanic National Park burned in this fire. Park officials state that 73,240 acres of the park were burned at various levels of severity. This huge fire was ignited on July 13th, 2021 by an electrical fault on a PG&E distribution circuit that supplied their Cresta Dam powerhouse on the North Fork Feather River along State Highway 70 in Plumas County. The fire was declared contained on October 24, 2021. This fire crossed the Sierra Nevada divide burning almost to the border with Nevada. Several communities were damaged or destroyed including Greenville, Canyon Dam and Indian Falls. Checker board patterns of logging clear-cuts extend across this landscape.ĬalFire wildfire investigators announced on Januthat the Dixie Fire was ignited by PG&E equipment in contact with a tree. CalFire sent their report to the Butte County District Attorney. We have a Public Records Act request filed with this District Attorney’s office asking for a copy of that report, but do not expect to receive it any time soon. Photo taken from the International Space Station. Examination of Another PG&E Ignited Wildfire: The 1,505 square mile (963,309 acre) Dixie Fire Nasa astronaut photo of the Dixie Fire on August 4, 2021.
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