Butte County’s top prosecutor says it’s “somewhat doubtful” that he would strike a deal that would allow PG&E to avoid criminal charges for causing November’s deadly Camp Fire.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey is in the midst of an investigation that could result in PG&E facing an array of criminal charges, including manslaughter, reckless arson and various environmental crimes, he said in an interview with KQED’s The California Report in his Oroville office.
“In this case, as huge as it is, with 85 deaths and a community destroyed ... we’ll see where the investigation finally leads us,” Ramsey said.
Last fall, just weeks before the deadly blaze began on Nov. 8, 2018, Ramsey and PG&E reached a $1.5 million settlement stemming from a much smaller fire, the 2015 Honey Fire.
That deal allowed the utility to avoid criminal charges that could have placed it in violation of its federal felony probation, arising from the fatal 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno.
PG&E declined to comment.
California law gives Ramsey three years from the date of the fire to file criminal charges. His team is working with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office to examine evidence and determine if crimes were committed.
