Cal Fire officials said in a statement late Tuesday that the fire started when a tree came into contact with the company's electrical distribution lines in the forested Feather River Canyon. Cal Fire officials stated that they had forwarded their investigation report to the district attorney's office in Butte County, where the fire began.
The Dixie Fire, which began on July 13 and spread across five counties, consumed nearly a million acres and blackened swaths of scenic forest, including much of Lassen Volcanic National Park. It destroyed over 1,300 structures, including Greenville, a small town, and killed one person.
Officials from Butte County were not immediately available for comment.
PG&E had previously acknowledged that its power lines were most likely the cause of the fire, and it disclosed in November in securities filings that it may face at least $1.15 billion in related liability costs. "Regardless of today's finding," it said late Tuesday, "we will continue to be tenacious in our efforts to stop fire ignitions from our equipment and to ensure that everyone and everything is always safe."
Shortly after the Dixie Fire began, PG&E Chief Executive Patti Poppe announced a plan to bury 10,000 miles of distribution lines, reversing the company's previous position that such burying would be prohibitively expensive. PG&E has since gathered information from engineering and construction firms and formed an undergrounding council to assist in the development of the plan.
The Dixie Fire started near the Camp Fire, which killed 84 people and destroyed Paradise in November 2018. The fire was the deadliest in California history.
PG&E's equipment has sparked more than 20 California wildfires in recent years, killing more than 100 people and destroying thousands of homes. The majority of the fires were started when trees or branches came into contact with the company's wires. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and emerged in 2020 after paying $25.5 billion to settle fire-related claims.