Yes. Power lines can and frequently do start wildfires in California by producing sparks or high-heat electrical arcs that ignite dry vegetation, often due to equipment failure or poor maintenance.
For example, the Eaton Fire, which began on January 7, 2025, has been linked to power lines, operated by Southern California Edison, which were discovered to be live and starting new fires during the incident.
Power lines may account for a small share of wildfire ignitions by count. However, according to CAL FIRE data, electrical equipment was responsible for 19 percent of all acres burned in California between 2016 and 2020.
32,652 power line-ignited wildfires occurred across the country between 1992 and 2020, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The 2018 Camp Fire, which was sparked by a nearly 100-year-old PG&E transmission line, killed 85 people, destroyed over 18,000 structures and drove PG&E into bankruptcy with over $30 billion in expected liabilities.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if a power line fire:
- Injured you or a loved one
- Damaged or destroyed property owned or lived in by you or your loved one
- Forced you or your loved one to evacuate
- Caused you or your loved one to suffer business losses
Our experienced California wildfire lawyers can help you pursue financial compensation and will charge you no legal fee until we win your case.
Table of Contents
- How Do Powerlines Cause Wildfires?
- California Fires Caused by Power Lines: A History of Utility Negligence
- Who Is Liable When a Powerline Causes a Wildfire?
- FAQs
- When to Contact a California Wildfire Attorney
How Do Powerlines Cause Wildfires?
Live power lines can ignite wildfires through several distinct failure mechanisms. These mechanisms involve a release of high-energy heat or sparks into the surrounding vegetation.
Power companies can prevent each mechanism through proper power infrastructure maintenance and vegetation management.
Utility companies that fail to inspect or maintain their equipment can be held liable when fires result since their decisions were responsible for increased fire risks.
From 2016 to 2020, electrical power networks ignited 19% of the wildfires which occurred in those five years.
Downed Power Lines
Downed lines remain energized until utility companies physically shut them off. This can take tens of minutes.
A high-impedance fault (HiZ) can let a fallen power line remain energized without tripping any circuit breakers.
In up to 30 percent of downed-conductor incidents, the fault does not draw enough current to trip a circuit breaker, leading to an HiZ fault. This leaves the line energized and arcing on or near the ground for an extended period.
Persistent arcing from an HiZ fault can create sustained high-temperature arcing which ignites dry vegetation. This is particularly true under high-wind, low-humidity conditions which elevate the danger of devastating wildfires occurring.
Vegetation Growth
Powerlines primarily ignite wildfires by creating high-temperature arcs or sparks which fall onto dry vegetation.
Trees and brush which grow into power lines can cause fires in multiple ways.
A branch spanning two conductors can produce high-temperature arcs several feet long. This can burn a line down entirely over a 24-hour period if the vegetation contact persists.
California’s Public Resources Code requires utilities to maintain specified vegetation clearance zones around power lines in high fire-threat areas. Failure to comply with this creates direct legal exposure.
Extreme heat can lead to metal conductors sagging, potentially bringing energized lines into contact with overgrown vegetation.
Fires may happen when limbs or trees fall onto lines (fall-in) or when conductors end up swaying into nearby trees (grow-in).
CAL FIRE linked several 2017 North Bay fires, including the Nuns, Atlas and Redwood fires, to trees contacting PG&E distribution lines and power poles.
Conductor Slap
During high wind conditions, power lines may swing and strike each other, leading to a conductor slap which leads to arcing and short circuits.
Power lines are engineered with spacing to prevent contact. However, extreme winds or nearby fault conditions can force conductors to swing and collide.
Conductor slap creates high-energy arcing and ejects hot metal particles onto ground-level combustibles. Those particles can ignite as they fall when aluminum conductors are used.
A related phenomenon called fault-induced conductor slap (FICS) can cause conductors one mile or more away to collide due to magnetic forces from a separate fault. This is a condition that conventional utility tools often fail to detect.
Recurring Electrical Faults
Some power line faults are isolated events. Others repeat until utilities take corrective action.
Repetitive faults can stem from:
- Ongoing vegetation encroachment
- Degrading equipment
- Unresolved conductor slap conditions
Each fault event carries fire risk. Utilities that fail to identify and correct repetitive faults expose communities to repeated ignition hazards.
Failing Infrastructure
Components like transformers and insulators may produce overheating and arcing before complete failure.
Components such as switches, insulators and transformers can enter a pre-failure phase where they continue to carry load while producing arcing or sparking too faint for conventional sensors to detect. That arcing intensifies over time and can ignite nearby materials or cause conductors to burn through and fall to the ground as live, energized wires.
Typical circuits may contain hundreds or thousands of components. This makes comprehensive inspection intervals difficult. This is why utilities have a duty to deploy monitoring systems capable of detecting early warning signs.
The 2019 Saddle Ridge Fire ignited when parts of three transmission towers caught on fire because of improper maintenance of a skyline jumper wire and a Y-shaped insulator fitting.
California Fires Caused by Power Lines: A History of Utility Negligence
Six of California’s 10 most destructive wildfires since 2015 were caused by overhead power lines, according to the Los Angeles City Controller’s office. These fires burned nearly 649,000 acres, destroying approximately 23,500 structures and killing 108 people.
2025 Eaton Fire (Southern California Edison)
The Eaton Fire, which ignited on January 7, 2025, caused at least 19 fatalities and the damage or destruction of over 12,000 homes and structures, leading to multiple lawsuits against Southern California Edison.
The United States Department of Justice sued Southern California Edison in September 2025, alleging the utility’s transmission equipment caused the fire.
Los Angeles County filed a separate lawsuit in March 2025, stating witnesses, photos and videos showed the fire started directly under SCE transmission lines in Eaton Canyon.
An NPR investigation found that SCE distribution lines were malfunctioning in Altadena as early as 11 AM on January 7, hours before the main ignition.
SCE faces almost 1,000 lawsuits from victims, insurers and government entities seeking an Eaton Fire recovery as of early 2026.
Contact our experienced Eaton Fire lawyers today for a FREE consultation if you or a loved one suffered from forced evacuation, injury, business loss, property damage or property destruction due to the Eaton Fire. We can help you recover financial compensation for your losses.
2021 Dixie Fire (PG&E)
The Dixie Fire was sparked on July 13, 2021. It burned 963,309 acres in Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama and Lassen counties, destroying 1,329 structures, damaging another 95 structures, causing a minimum of $1.15 billion worth of damage and leading to the death of a firefighter.
The fire started underneath a PG&E 12-kilovolt distribution line between Paradise and Belden.
A Douglas fir fell onto this line, and while two fuses blew when this happened, one stayed active, keeping the line energized. The tree created a fault, causing electric arcing to ignite fuels on the ground.
PG&E agreed to pay $55 million worth of civil penalties in 2022 to avoid criminal prosecution for sparking the fire as well as 2019’s Kincade Fire.
PG&E, in 2024, agreed to a $45 million settlement that was proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission. $2.5 million was paid into a state general fund, $2.5 million went to Native American tribes who were affected by the Dixie Fire, and $40 million would be spent by PG&E on digitizing records, since the companies neglect regarding digitizing records was considered a factor in its failure to inspect trees and power lines.
2018 Camp Fire (PG&E)
The Camp Fire started on November 8, 2018 in Butte County. It burned 153,336 acres of land, killing 85 people, causing 52,000 people to be evacuated, destroying 18,804 structures and causing $16.65 billion in damage.
The 2018 Camp Fire started when a single worn-out metal hook on a PG&E transmission tower ended up failing, allowing a live line to contact a transmission tower, creating temperatures as high as 10,000 degrees.
The fire, famously, obliterated the town of Paradise.
PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter regarding the fire, ultimately entering into a $13.5 billion settlement with victims.
2015 Butte Fire (PG&E)
The Butte Fire started on September 9, 2015 in Amador County. It burned 70,868 acres of land and caused $74.7 million worth of damage.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) faced over 1,000 lawsuits relating to the 2015 Butte Fire, which was caused by the failure to maintain a power line, leading to two deaths and the destruction of 549 homes.
The fire started when a tree contacted a power line.
PG&E was fined $8.3 million for failing to maintain a power line that started the fire.
CAL FIRE separately sought $90 million in firefighting costs.
2007 San Diego Fires (SDG&E / Cox)
The Guejito, Witch and Rice fires burned 207,000 acres and destroyed 1,141 homes in 2007.
The Witch Fire started near Santa Ysabel on October 21, 2007 when Santa Ana winds blew a power line down, causing sparks to be released into the wind. The fire eventually merged with the Guejito Fire and eventually burned 197,990 acres of land, causing $1.339 billion in damage.
The Rice fire started in Fallbrook CA on October 22, 2007 when a power line shorted three times in three hours. The California Public Utilities Commission ruled that San Diego Gas and Electric was at fault for the fire because they failed to trim back trees as required by state law.
The Rice fire only burned 9,472 acres of land, but it destroyed 206 homes and caused $6.5 million worth of damage.
In 2007, San Diego County wildfires ignited when vegetation came into contact with cables and power lines from San Diego Gas & Electric, causing the destruction of 1,141 homes.
San Diego Gas & Electric, in 2007, paid over $2 billion in settlements which were related to wildfires started by their power lines, and Cox Communications paid $444 million for their role in these incidents.
Who Is Liable When a Powerline Causes a Wildfire?
California utility companies have a legal duty under state law and CPUC regulations to maintain their infrastructure and manage vegetation around power lines.
California applies a legal doctrine called inverse condemnation to investor-owned utilities. This means utilities can be held strictly liable for wildfire damages caused by their equipment even without proof of negligence, according to Stanford Law School.
Property owners, under inverse condemnation, need only show that utility-owned equipment caused the fire that damaged their property. Fault is not required for recovery.
Potentially liable parties in power line fire claims include:
- Utility companies
- Equipment manufacturers when defective components contribute to ignition
Filing an insurance claim does not prevent you from also pursuing an inverse condemnation claim or negligence claim against a utility for losses not fully covered by your policy.
Utilities can also face fines and penalties when they cause wildfires.
For example, Southern California Edison, in 2021, agreed to pay $550 million in fines and penalties related to the ignition of five wildfires which burned over 385,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and caused five deaths.
The California Public Utilities Commission has reported that ignitions related to electric utilities are disproportionately responsible for wildfire-related consequences, highlighting legal liabilities faced by utility companies.
FAQs
What Percentage of California Wildfires Is Caused by Power Lines?
Power lines cause a small share of wildfire ignitions by count. However, they account for a disproportionate share of destruction.
Electrical equipment was responsible for about 10 percent of California wildfires and 19 percent of all acres burned in California between 2016 and 2020, according to a 2025 MDPI study.
Six of California’s 10 most destructive wildfires since 2015 were caused by overhead power lines.
Southern California Edison is likely responsible for the Eaton Fire.
Can I Sue My Utility Company for a Wildfire?
Yes.
California law allows property owners, business owners and renters to pursue claims against utility companies for wildfire damages.
What Is a High-Impedance Fault?
High-impedance faults occur when downed, energized lines contact the ground but don’t draw enough current to trip conventional protective devices like fuses or circuit breakers.
These faults are especially dangerous because the lines can spark and ignite vegetation long before utility companies receive alerts.
What Are Some Wildfire Prevention Strategies?
Burying power lines is the single best method to avoid the dangerous arcing of overhead wires. Undergrounding power lines is also the most costly, averaging from $3.8 million to $6 million per mile.
A key strategy for preventing wildfires is the shutting off of power when high winds of certain velocities are forecasted, typically near 56 to 58 mph. These power shutoffs are known as public safety power shutoffs. Utilities must balance the consequences of power outages with wildfire risks.
Utilities should pre-position crews at older transmission lines and known vulnerable substations in the path of predicted high winds in order to mitigate wildfire risks.
Rigorous vegetation management is a common solution to mitigate wildfire risks which are exacerbated by climate change.
After the 2008 Sayre Fire, Oakridge homes were rebuilt using fire-resistant materials. This is a strategy to help stop spreading of flames from smaller power line fires.
What Is the Impact of Climate Change on Wildfire Risks Associated with Power Lines?
Climate change has increased vegetation’s dryness. This in turn amplifies the risk of wildfires being ignited by power lines.
Utilities have been causing fires for 30 years, but the severity has increased because of higher housing density and drier vegetation caused by climate change.
The 2023 Maui fire that killed 102 people was caused by a reenergization of broken power lines in high winds. This ignited dry vegetation.
Between 2016 and 2020, electrical power networks ignited 19% of the wildfires which occurred in those five years. This highlights the growing risk amid climate change.
The California Public Utilities Commission reported in 2020 that ignitions related to electric utilities are disproportionately responsible for wildfire-related consequences which are exacerbated by climate change.
How Long Do I Have to File a Wildfire Lawsuit in California?
Personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of injury in most cases.
Property damage claims carry a three-year deadline under California Code of Civil Procedure section 338.
It is crucial to act quickly to strengthen your case.
When to Contact a California Wildfire Attorney
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if a fire started by a power line:
- Injured you or a loved one
- Damaged or destroyed property owned or lived in by you or your loved one
- Forced you or your loved one to evacuate
- Caused you or your loved one to suffer business losses
We can help you recover financial compensation and will charge you no legal fee until we win your case.
Why Wildfire Victims Trust Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers
- Many law firms accept as many cases as they can without bothering to take into account if they have enough staff to handle them. However, our responsive legal team is fully staffed so we can provide our clients with reliable communication, 24/7 availability and frequent case updates.
- We have been trusted since 1990 to recover financial compensation for the damages our clients have incurred.
- Our lawyers provide free consultations and charge no legal fee until we win since our only fee is a percentage of any recovery obtained.
- We have a high-stakes litigation team that has the experience handling high-value cases and comprehensive resources needed to take on big utility companies like Edison and PG&E and win.
- Unlike many law firms who are willing to cheaply settle cases for quick payouts, we provide trial-ready representation, meaning we’re not afraid to fight for the full value of your case in court.
- We and our legal teams have recovered over $750 million for our clients.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. All cases are unique and results depend on cases’ specific facts.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658.
