Lawsuit blames SDG&E circuit 197 outage for Norte Fire

The complaint was filed by attorney Richard Bridgford on behalf of Dawn Yates, who lives on Via De Agua in San Juan Capistrano and uses a wheelchair.

The two-minute gap

SDG&E's online outage map showed a 12-kilovolt distribution line on circuit 197 failing at 11:31 a.m. on Friday 16 October. The Norte Fire was first reported to emergency responders at 11:33 a.m.

The fire burned 570 acres and damaged or destroyed at least seven homes, the Daily News reported. Thousands of people were evacuated from San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente, and no residents were injured, FOX 11 reported. The suit seeks unspecified damages and asks the court to preserve evidence.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that either an arc from the power line or falling molten metal ignited the brush below.

A segment of the line crosses what the suit describes as the ignition site, on a hillside directly northwest of Eminencia Del Norte. The complaint says the area was classified a very high fire hazard severity zone because of brush and heavy winds. That classification, it argues, put SDG&E on notice to use heightened safety measures there. "SDG&E knew that its equipment in the general area of origin of the Norte Fire needed hardening upgrades and failed to perform them," the suit says.

The suit also alleges negligence in maintaining circuit 197 and in not abating vegetation around the utility's equipment. "SDG&E had a duty to properly construct and maintain its electrical infrastructure and manage the surrounding vegetation," the complaint says.

The complaint says SDG&E has known for more than a decade that its overhead distribution system in fire-prone areas carries ignition risks. According to the suit, SDG&E ran pole-loading calculations in 2012 and 2013 on about 4,400 poles selected from its High Risk Fire Areas. It found that roughly 15% would not meet current loading standards. Such poles might not hold their equipment, plus heavy winds, before snapping, the suit says.

What SDG&E says

SDG&E said on 19 October that it had not yet been served with the suit, and that the cause of the fire and the cause of the outage both remain under investigation.

SDG&E said it experienced an outage on circuit 197 in San Clemente at 11:31 a.m. on Friday 16 October, and that the cause of the outage remains under investigation. It said smoke and ash from fires can cause electric outages. "There is currently no basis to conclude that there is a connection between our facilities and the ignition," it said in a statement. It said it is cooperating with the Orange County Fire Authority, that evacuation orders have been lifted and that power has been restored to all customers who can receive it.

On the day the suit was filed, SDG&E lodged a required electrical safety incident report with the CPUC outlining the distribution line failure. The filing referenced a weekend Orange County Register article on a "potential connection" between the outage and the fire, the Daily News reported.

Containment and the open investigation

The Daily News put containment at 75% on Monday 19 October. FOX 11 reported 80% that evening.

The Orange County Fire Authority has not determined the cause and has had an investigator at the site since the fire began, KGTV reported.

Gerald Singleton, an attorney who represents Eaton fire victims and has taken SDG&E to court before, told KGTV that a cause report typically takes six to nine months. In the Eaton fire it came about a year and a half later, he said. Singleton also said the utility runs its own inquiry in parallel and hands over evidence from its equipment.