Judge Sees A ‘Clear-Cut Pattern’ Of California Utility Starting Wildfires

A federal judge who has emerged as a vocal critic of PG&E Corp.’s safety record, said the California utility giant has a “clear-cut pattern” of starting wildfires and needs “strong medicine” put in place before this year’s season begins. U.S. District Judge William Alsup is overseeing PG&E’s probation for safety violations that led to felony convictions for the 2010 explosion of one of its gas pipelines, which killed eight people. He has proposed strict protocols for California’s largest power company following a series of massive fires along its 125,000 miles of power lines over the past two years.