PG&E Investigates If Downed Power Line Caused Milpitas Fire
MILPITAS (KPIX 5) -- PG&E is investigating whether its power lines caused one home to burn down, and damaged three others in Milpitas over the weekend.
Meanwhile, some residents in the neighborhood on Barker and Casper Streets said they're upset at recent comments made by PG&E officials.
Cell phone video shot by Theresa Minjeras on Sunday afternoon shows a home fully engulfed in flames then a woman saying, "Sparks came from that power line right there and this fire started in seconds."
Despite witness accounts of an arcing power line, however, PG&E is not yet saying if, in fact, one of its power lines caused the fire on Barker Street. That day, as forecasted, the wind was strong and gusty. Neighbors said they feared the embers from the house fire would burn down more homes.
"I was ready to leave," said Nani Thorstensen. "I packed everything and was ready to leave."
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Jose Martinez, who also lives in the neighborhood, said he grabbed his daughter and dogs, got in the car and evacuated.
He said PG&E shut off power as firefighters put out the flames then turned it back on later that night. That's when Martinez said he heard the crackling of a power line from across the street and then flames. His neighbor's fence, he said, was on fire.
In total, three more homes were damaged by flames, including Ermalinda Enriquez's roof.
But she said she has no idea if the damage to her home was from an ember or a downed power line.
She was evacuated when the first home burned down earlier that afternoon. Martinez said he believes that PG&E should have turned off the power because of the strong winds that day.
On Monday, during a news conference, PG&E officials explained that the power wasn't turned off in the Milpitas neighborhood because it wasn't in its highest fire risk area.
"The potential for broad fire spread was not viewed at criteria that we would use for PSPS [public safety power shutoff]," said PG&E President and CEO Andy Vesey. "The scoping that we do for the PSPS is really to prevent the catastrophic events from happening, not every event from happening."
"Well, it's catastrophic to the people who live here," said Milpitas resident Jay Thorstensen about the victims who lost their home Sunday's fire. Stacie Enriquez, Ermalinda's daughter, also didn't agree with PG&E's explanation.
The family can't live in their home for now because of the smoke damage, and are staying at a hotel.
"It was catastrophic," she said. "You're seeing all the firefighters working on your house, you don't know what's going to happen, if we're losing our house."
On Tuesday, PG&E crews and an arborist were out at the neighborhood working at the homes that were damaged.
