Pacific Gas & Electric has dismissed a cleanup contractor after three of its employees shared photos of fire-damaged properties in Paradise on social media.
The Facebook photos included a dead cat posed next to a liquor bottle with insensitive captions.
The contractor, San Leandro-based Bigge Crane and Rigging Co., has fired the workers.
Randy Smith, a spokesman for the company says it learned of the postings Friday night. By Saturday, the company started an investigation and came to the conclusion that the postings did not meet the company's standards, Smith says.
"We do take this very seriously and we feel terrible for everybody in Paradise and thought it was a completely insensitive posting," Smith says. "We expect all of our employees to conduct themselves with utmost integrity and sensitivity."
Smith and multiple news stories identified one of the employees as Rob Freestone.
PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno calls the posts reprehensible.
"As soon as we learned of what was going on, we reacted immediately and reached out to the contractor," said Moreno.
Paradise police say they are still investigating whether any crimes were committed. Police spokesman Matt Gates told KQED that "the penal code is a big book and I'm sure there's something that applies."
The contractor says it employed a dozen workers in the area.