SAN FRANCISCO — Lawyers for Pacific Gas & Electric said the utility can't commit to hiring hundreds more tree trimmers in the way that a federal judge wants to cut the risk of starting more catastrophic wildfires in California.
Last month, the judge asked PG&E to add at least 1,100 more tree trimmers to help prevent trees and branches from falling onto its power lines and igniting.
Attorneys for PG&E said in court filings Monday that the company can't provide a deadline by which it will hire a set number of new tree trimmers and argued that they shouldn't be forced into doing so.
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BACKGROUND
At the beginning of October 2019, PG&E, the state's largest utility, cut power to more than 2 million people after powerful winds whipped up across Northern California. This was a stark contrast to the September event, which only cut power to just over 100,000 customers.
While customers and state politicians were upset, PG&E said the blackouts worked because over 100 reports of damage to powerlines were found after the power shutoffs.
PG&E transmission lines caused wildfires that killed more than 100 people in 2017 and 2018, including the Camp Fire, California's deadliest in modern history.
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