Judge critical of PG&E’s wildfire role demands more answers

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FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2018, file photo, a Pacific Gas & Electric lineman works to repair a power line in fire-ravaged Paradise, Calif. A U.S. judge who has berated Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for its role in wildfires in California is demanding more answers from the utility. In a court filing on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, Judge William Alsup asked PG&E whether it was in compliance with a state law that requires it to clear vegetation around electric lines. The judge also questioned a part of the utility\'s recently submitted wildfire mitigation plan. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SAN FRANCISCO – A U.S. judge who has berated Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for its role in California wildfires is demanding more answers from the utility.

In a court filing Thursday, Judge William Alsup asked PG&E if it was in compliance with a state law requiring it to clear vegetation around electric lines that could cause fires.

The judge also questioned a part of the utility’s recently submitted wildfire mitigation plan.

Alsup said it appears under the plan that PG&E would take more than 10 years to clear potentially dangerous vegetation where the fire threat is high.

PG&E spokesman James Noonan did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Alsup is overseeing a criminal conviction against PG&E stemming from a deadly 2010 gas line explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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