Cause Of Deadly Tubbs Fire Released By Cal Fire

SONOMA and NAPA COUNTIES, CA — The deadly, destructive Santa Rosa Tubbs Fire — one of the catastrophic October 2017 wildfires in Northern California's wine country — was caused by a private electrical system adjacent to a residential structure, officials with Cal Fire announced Thursday in a news release.

The cause was determined following "an extensive and thorough investigation," said Cal Fire Deputy Director Mike Mohler.

Cal Fire investigators did not identify any violations of state law related to the cause of the fire, Mohler added.

The Tubbs Fire started the evening of Oct. 8, 2017 and burned a total of 36,807 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties — destroying 5,636 structures and resulting in the deaths of 22 civilians and one firefighter injury.

Much of the fire's destruction was in Santa Rosa, particularly in the Coffey Park and Fountaingrove neighborhoods.

The Tubbs Fire was first reported at 9:41 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 by a resident who saw flames in the area of state Highway 128 and Tubbs Road in Calistoga, near the border of the Napa and Sonoma counties, according to Cal Fire officials.

In an 80-page Tubbs Fire investigation report released Thursday, the location of the fire's origin was confirmed by Cal Fire to be a privately owned parcel off of Bennett Lane in Calistoga.

In November 2017, PG&E attorneys pointed to private equipment as the cause of the Tubbs Fire.

In June 2018, Cal Fire investigators pointed to PG&E equipment in relation to 12 of the other major wildfires that were part of the October 2017 Fire Siege that burned more than 245,000 acres not only in Napa and Sonoma counties but in the neighboring Northern California counties of Lake, Mendocino and Solano.

Approximately 11,000 firefighters from 17 states and Australia helped battle the devastating blazes that broke out amid a red-flag warning as strong winds were hitting wine country.

More than 40 people died in the firestorm, the Tubbs Fire being the deadliest.

A spokesperson for the City of Santa Rosa, where thousands of homes were destroyed in the Tubbs Fire, emailed a statement Thursday afternoon.

"The City of Santa Rosa received the Tubbs Fire Investigation Report issued by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection this afternoon, Thursday, January 24, 2019," said city spokesperson Adriane Mertens. "We will be reviewing the report with our legal team and will have further comment on the findings and the City’s next steps soon."

In July 2018, the city of Santa Rosa announced it filed a lawsuit against PG&E. The city said in filing the suit, it was seeking compensation for damages resulting from the Tubbs and the Nuns fires and their aftermath. City officials at the time said it provided an avenue for Santa Rosa to "join with others to compel PG&E to implement new safety measures to prevent future disasters."

The October 2017 Nuns Fire was caused by a broken top of a tree coming in contact with a power line, Cal Fire investigators determined.

The Nuns fire merged with the Norrbom, Adobe, Partrick and Pythian fires in Sonoma and Napa counties. Three people died in the fires, which started in the late-night hours of Oct. 8, 2017 and burned a combined total of 56,556 acres and destroyed 1,355 homes and other structures.

Cal Fire investigators determined the Norrbom, Adobe and Partrick fires were caused when trees either fell or came into contact with PG&E power lines, while the Pythian fire was caused by a downed power line after PG&E attempted to re-energize the line.

PG&E announced last week that it plans to file a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection around Jan. 29 as a result of liabilities from the 2017 fires as well as ones in 2018 such as the disastrous Camp Fire in Butte County.

In a statement Thursday, PG&E said: "Regardless of today's announcement, PG&E faces extensive litigation, significant potential liabilities and a deteriorating financial situation which was further impaired by the recent credit agency downgrades to below investment grade.

"Resolving the legal liabilities and financial challenges stemming from the 2017 and 2018 wildfires will be enormously complex and will require us to address multiple stakeholders, including thousands of wildfire victims and others who have already made claims and likely thousands of others we expect to make claim."

State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, also responded Thursday to Cal Fire's report on the Tubbs Fire.

"This underscores the idea that we all have a role to play in wildfire prevention," Dodd said.

"Regardless, it doesn't negate the system-wide issues plaguing PG&E and the need for change in its leadership and culture. After all, Cal Fire previously found PG&E responsible for over a dozen Northern California wildfires and the cause of others remains under investigation," he said.

"We still need to understand what this means for PG&E's financial health and whether it will continue to pursue bankruptcy," Dodd said.

As for the county of Sonoma, county Counsel Bruce Goldstein said Thursday's announcement from Cal Fire does not affect the county's lawsuit seeking compensation from the utility company for Tubbs Fire damages.

"Cal Fire has found PG&E responsible for 17 of 18 fires in the state and seven of eight in Sonoma County," Goldstein said.

"The (Tubbs Fire) report is not a judge's conclusion, and we will remain engaged in litigation. If anything puts the lawsuit off track it would be PG&E's filing for bankruptcy," he said.

"Damages and liability will be determined by a judge. There is no question PG&E is responsible for the fires around the state," Goldstein said.

Santa Rosa attorney Roy Miller, who represents 1,200 people who are suing PG&E for lost homes and other damages, said Thursday's Cal Fire report "changes nothing."

"The bottom line is the Cal Fire report finds 'an unknown event' as the cause of the fire," Miller said.

"The report is wrong. We have witnesses who saw fire down low to the ground where PG&E equipment was," Miller said.

Miller said even if the owner of the private property where Cal Fire says the private equipment started the fire is responsible for the Tubbs Fire, PG&E should have shut off its power as it did in one instance in Calistoga during a period of high fire danger last fall.

Most fire response resources were fighting the Atlas, Nuns and Redwood fires caused by PG&E that day, and there were no resources to fight the Tubbs Fire, Miller said.

"We have many weapons at our disposal to continue the litigation," Miller said.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Photo by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com