AURORA – Franklin D. Azar & Associates announced Monday that it and another law firm have filed a class-action lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Energy Co. (PG&E) for possibly starting the Camp Fire in northern California.
Both firms filed the suit in Butte County, California last week on behalf of those who lost property from the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise.
The lawsuit claims PG&E “disregarded safety regulations” by not shutting off power to areas with high fire danger and properly mitigating fire risk. The company had tweeted that it might shut off power two days before the fire sparked, but the company ultimately decided to keep electricity on.
Authorities have not yet announced an official cause of the fire. However, the utility reported a power outage near the area where the fire started around 6:45 a.m. on Nov. 8.
Azar, along with Garner & Associates, also claim there were multiple reports of issues with a PG&E high-voltage line minutes before the fire officially started.
Since it started on Nov. 8, the fire has burned more than 10,000 structures and killed 79. As of Monday, 699 people remain missing, down from earlier estimates of more than 1,000.
PG&E’s stock prices have declined sharply following the start of the fire over fears of more lawsuits. The company is already facing numerous suits from 2017 wildfires in Northern California.
