Camp Fire (2018)

The Camp Fire was ignited at approximately 6:15 a.m. PST on November 8, 2018, when a C-hook on PG&E's Caribou-Palermo 115-kV transmission line failed near Tower :27/222 above the community of Pulga, in Butte County, California. The failure caused the conductor to drop and contact the tower, throwing molten metal into dry vegetation below. Drought-stressed fuels and strong offshore winds drove explosive initial spread.

The Camp Fire killed 85 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire since the 1918 Cloquet fire in Minnesota. Most fatalities occurred during the rapid initial evacuation of Paradise on the morning of November 8, when vehicles became trapped on Skyway, Pearson Road, and Pentz Road as the fire overtook residents trying to flee. The medical examiner identified 84 victims through DNA testing of remains; one additional remains was identified in 2019.

Approximately 95% of the structures in the town of Paradise, California were destroyed in the Camp Fire, including 13,696 single-family homes, 528 commercial structures, and nearly all of the town's public infrastructure including the high school, town hall, and post office. Paradise's pre-fire population of 26,800 fell below 2,000 in the months immediately afterward and has only partially recovered.

The fire's explosive spread was driven by a combination of factors: critically dry vegetation following an extended California drought, a sharp wind gradient with sustained 30 to 45 mph offshore winds and gusts to 50 mph, and the topography of the Feather River canyon which funneled the wind. The fire moved approximately 7 miles in 90 minutes during its initial run, and was reported burning structures in Paradise just over 90 minutes after ignition.

Yes. In June 2020, PG&E pled guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully starting a fire in Butte County Superior Court. The utility paid $3.5 million in criminal fines and entered a settlement totaling $13.5 billion with fire victims through its 2019–2020 Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The Caribou-Palermo transmission line was permanently decommissioned in 2019.