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In this episode of American Greed, in
California, a convicted criminal is
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wreaking havoc, blowing up
neighborhoods,
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burning entire
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towns, claiming the lives of more than
100 people.
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Who is that criminal?
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The state's powerful utility.
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Pacific Gas and Electric, P, G, and E.
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How does one company get so much so
wrong over and over?
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From the shocking evidence of neglect to
the wrenching stories of survivors.
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Fire comes filling up the whole house.
I'm like melting alive.
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It's over.
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To the inside account of a longtime
employee.
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Had I followed my supervisor's
instructions, it could have killed the
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that household.
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American Greed digs deep into the deadly
crimes of a company that kills.
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On the morning of November 8, 2018, in
the small town of Megalia, California,
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Skye Sedgwick's life is about to be
upended.
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The day begins with alarming news from
her father.
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I woke to him knocking on my door loudly
and saying, Skye,
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get up, there's fire coming up over the
ridge. And I just shot out of bed.
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This is no small fire.
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Skye decides to get out on foot.
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When I was walking through the woods,
there was huge embers falling because at
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one point I had fire on both sides of
me.
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Propelled by high force winds, the
flames move fast toward a small town
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Paradise. The spark started the fire in
my eye.
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The fire is where? In my yard. Resources
are coming as fast as they can.
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What follows for people in the path of
the fire is a day of living hell.
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Are you trapped?
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Yes.
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The house next door to me is on fire.
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Before it all ends, 84 people die.
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When the smoke clears, the so -called
campfire has burned 150 ,000 acres.
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It has destroyed more than 18 ,000
buildings.
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I kept telling myself, something will be
left.
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There wasn't anything.
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There wasn't a thing.
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The cars melted to the ground. There was
nothing.
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I didn't know you could lose so much in
one day.
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And the cause of all this destruction,
not a bolt of lightning or a careless
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match tossed in the woods, but instead
the policies and practices of a multi
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-billion dollar corporation, Pacific Gas
and Electric, PG &E.
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PG &E is the largest investor -owned
utility in the United States. In
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for more than a century.
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PG &E has grown into a behemoth. Its
thousands of high -voltage power lines
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gas pipelines crisscross 70 ,000 square
miles.
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It delivers electricity and gas to 16
million customers.
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But energy is not all it delivers.
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For years, as a publicly traded company,
PG &E pays out hundreds of millions of
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dollars in dividends to shareholders,
making it popular on Wall Street.
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And that's where things get complicated.
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How can an entity that size, providing
energy to its large customer base, be
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beholden to public safety and at the
same time be beholden to shareholders?
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Put another way, what is more important,
safety or profits?
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It's a question that plagues PG &E and
comes into sharp focus in 1994.
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In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains is a small town called Rough
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Ready.
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The summers here are hot, dry.
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People know they are living in a
tinderbox.
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This is what's called a California
flashy fuel.
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This grass is, what, three feet high
right now, all across this hillside.
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Captain Ken Hale, now retired.
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Fights fires here for 21 years.
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This stuff, when it's pushed by a wind,
burning uphill the way it is right here,
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it's capable of at least 50 -foot flame
lengths.
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All it takes is a spark.
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And on a hot day in August 1994, a spark
makes contact.
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Quickly, Hale finds the source of the
fire, an oak tree.
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I walked around this tree and I could
hear buzzing above me.
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And, you know, looking up, I saw a
branch in direct contact with a 21 kV
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power line.
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It is known as a burner, a branch coming
into contact with the electrical
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current in a power line that ignites a
wildfire.
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The fire blew up through this canyon,
went straight up this hill.
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This is where they primarily did, or the
fire did, most of the damage that it
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did. In all, the Rough and Ready Fire
burns 500 acres and destroys 12 homes.
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And that is why PG &E is required by law
to keep its lines clear of trees and
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bushes.
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But is PG &E obeying the law?
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Ken Hale and fellow firefighters take to
the country roads of their
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jurisdiction.
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Nevada and Placer counties and come up
with a shocking answer.
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We found 743 violations in Nevada County
and about 750
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in Placer County with six to eight
people in two weeks. And a
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good chunk of those were burners. Hale's
findings are later turned over to Jenny
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Ross, the deputy district attorney for
Nevada County.
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I was angry.
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Frankly, I was angry at the behavior, at
the arrogance, at the complete
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disregard, the blatant disregard of the
danger they were causing for
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hundreds of thousands of people all
across Northern California.
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Ross recently left a major San Francisco
law firm looking for a quieter pace of
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life in a rural setting.
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But now she becomes the first criminal
prosecutor to take the giant utility to
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trial, charging PG &E with more than 700
misdemeanor criminal counts.
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This was criminal behavior.
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This was not merely negligence.
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After Ross issues subpoenas, Ken Hale
takes off his fire jacket and heads to
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downtown San Francisco as Ross's lead
investigator.
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My first impression going into the PG &E
building was that they could certainly
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afford to trim trees if they can afford
to fill that building with bosses.
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And PG &E is ready for him. On the floor
was this small mountain of
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documents that PG &E had simply brought
in and dumped the boxes on the floor.
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But inside that mountain is just what
Ross is looking for.
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Internal records incriminating evidence
showing that PG &E is decimating its
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tree trimming budget. One contractor
reports that its workforce has been
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49 .7%. And even PG &E's own employees
send warnings. The
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potential for a major fire is very real.
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And it's not just cutting budgets.
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Ross learns that PG &E actually diverts
nearly $80 million earmarked to trim
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trees into company profits.
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They sacrifice safety.
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Money that should have been put into
making sure their lines were safe went
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their own pockets and into the pockets
of their shareholders.
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It's hard for people to imagine how a
large, wealthy, well -established
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corporation could be that callous.
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But it's all about the money.
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It's all about greed.
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It really boils down to dollars.
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The rough and ready trial against PG &E
opens in March 1997.
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And they certainly didn't think that one
little deputy district attorney in
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little rural Nevada County was going to
do them any harm.
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PG &E defends its effort to trim trees,
but Jenny Ross prevails.
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The company is convicted on 739 counts
of criminal negligence.
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We were pleased.
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I didn't think there was any other
verdict they could come to.
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The company is fined close to $2
million.
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Not a lot of money for the huge utility.
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But what it was, was being found
criminally responsible.
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PG &E had a big label across its
forehead saying, I'm a criminal.
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But whether PG &E has actually learned a
lesson, well, that's another question.
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Up next, every mother's nightmare.
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I could see the flames were shooting
from the neighborhood.
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You could.
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See the panic in people's eyes, and I
couldn't get to her.
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In a business like PG &E, corporate
culture is set at the top.
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in the C -suite.
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And when leadership changes, culture can
change.
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And that's what many say happens to PG
&E, a company once run by engineers who
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get replaced by people with MBAs. And
when the people who had MBAs started to
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run the company, they started looking at
financial performance first.
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And safety and engineering took a back
seat.
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Steve Segali sees that shift.
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He works on the gas side for PG &E,
starting as a meter reader in 1981.
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I was very proud to work there.
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I loved what I did. And, you know, after
a while, I got an apprenticeship.
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I couldn't be happier.
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But over 40 years, he watches the
company he loves slowly disappear.
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The culture went from you will work
hard, you will not take shortcuts.
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Now, we talk safety, but there's too
much pressure to meet budgetary
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requirements on maintenance.
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And those budgetary requirements can
spell disaster.
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In the spring of 2005, Segali says he
gets a call about a gas leak in Marin
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County, north of San Francisco.
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It is serious, posing a threat to nearby
homes.
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But it's late in the day.
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Repairing the leak will mean overtime
pay for Sigali and his partner.
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Sigali checks in with his supervisor, a
man he knows is under pressure to keep
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costs down.
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He told me to fill the hole back in and
go home. And I said, no, this isn't a
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business decision. This is public
safety.
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I'm not going home. I have an obligation
to protect the public. I have a job to
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do. And I wasn't going to do the wrong
thing.
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Sagali fixes the leak. And several
families in that neighborhood have no
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how lucky they are that he is on the job
that day in 2005.
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Had I followed my supervisor's
instructions and left, later that day,
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day, the day after, could it have blown
up one of those houses? Absolutely yes.
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It could have killed the members of that
household.
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In a bold move, Sagali later attends a
shareholders meeting.
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and reports his concerns directly to PG
&E's CEO.
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An investigation is opened, and
widespread problems in the gas
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are discovered and addressed.
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But an even more dangerous threat still
looms in a town 25 miles south.
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This is San Bruno, a small suburb
bordering San Francisco.
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It's where Joe Rugomez grows up.
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It's a great little tight -knit
community.
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Went to elementary school, middle
school, high school there, college
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San Bruno was home.
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San Bruno is also home to Renee Morales,
a mother of four.
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The neighbors were wonderful, very
welcoming.
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The schools were excellent.
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In time, Renee and Joe's lives become
intertwined when her daughter Jessica
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Joe... Start dating.
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We couldn't stay away from each other.
It was literally every day.
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We'd hang out all day, every day.
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On a fall day in 2010, Joe and Jessica
are at Joe's house watching a game.
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And we're sitting on the couch.
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And out of nowhere, you just hear this
excruciatingly loud noise that sounded
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like a jet engine, like right in your
ear.
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It starts accelerating for like four or
five seconds, and then boom.
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Fire comes filling up the whole house.
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It's like a huge blowtorch, if you will.
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I don't know what's going on, but all I
know is that I'm like melting alive.
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It's over.
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People away from the center of the
explosion see what looks like a plane
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It appears that we have a plane.
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Watching the news, Renee Morales
recognizes the supposed crash site.
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It is Joe's neighborhood where Jessica
is spending the evening.
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I could see the flames were shooting
from the neighborhood.
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You could see the panic in people's
eyes.
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And I couldn't get to her.
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James Haggerty, at the time, is a San
Bruno police detective and is among the
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first on the scene.
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The odd thing was that the fireball kept
going, and it raged for approximately
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90 minutes. And I had a sense that this
was something different than a plane
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crash. Something kept fueling the fire.
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PG &E employees nearby recognize what is
happening.
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This is not a plane crash.
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Their own gas pipeline has exploded.
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And I'm seeing the news. I'm talking to
coworkers.
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And I was just, it was gut -wrenching.
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It was surreal.
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Up next, how PG &E gambles with
customers' lives.
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Every time they raised that pressure
inside that pipe, they made the crack
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bigger.
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00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:58,519
The day after a PG &E gas transmission
pipeline explodes in San Bruno,
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return to unbelievable destruction.
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The aftermath was this large crater that
was in the middle of the street, and
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everything around it had been instantly
vaporized and melted and burned.
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In all, 38 homes are completely
destroyed.
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Joe Rugomez.
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Covered in second and third degree
burns, is rescued by a neighbor who gets
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to a hospital.
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I remember them putting a mask on me and
I didn't wake up till like Halloween.
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This was September 9th and I didn't wake
up till Halloween.
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On the night of the explosion, Renee
Morales races from one hospital to the
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00:17:38,860 --> 00:17:40,740
next, searching for Jessica.
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About two o 'clock the next day, the
coroner's office drove up to my house
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and...
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They delivered the news that they had
found something that could be identified
230
00:17:55,590 --> 00:17:56,640
as Jessica.
231
00:17:57,510 --> 00:17:59,750
Seven others also die.
232
00:18:05,730 --> 00:18:11,469
The trigger for the explosion is a power
failure at the PG &E Milpitas Control
233
00:18:11,470 --> 00:18:13,330
Center, 35 miles away.
234
00:18:13,550 --> 00:18:19,270
It causes a surge of gas through a
segment of what is known as Line 132.
235
00:18:19,930 --> 00:18:25,989
A pipe installed by PG &E in 1956 to
service a new housing development in San
236
00:18:25,990 --> 00:18:31,709
Bruno. When the line explodes years
later, a 3 ,000 -pound piece of pipe is
237
00:18:31,710 --> 00:18:32,910
thrown out on the ground.
238
00:18:33,130 --> 00:18:39,329
When the pipeline rupture occurred, a
section of about 30 feet long
239
00:18:39,330 --> 00:18:44,370
portion of the pipeline was launched
about a quarter way up this hill.
240
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:49,380
And that section of the pipeline has
been a disaster in waiting for years.
241
00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,239
Investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board immediately
242
00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:56,290
the problem.
243
00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:01,999
We did find a longitudinal seam on the
pipe, which means it started as a flat
244
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,859
piece of metal, which was then curved on
itself and then welded longitudinally.
245
00:19:05,860 --> 00:19:08,560
And that seam that should hold the pipe
together?
246
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,100
doomed from the start.
247
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:16,220
You're supposed to weld pipe like that
both on the exterior and the interior.
248
00:19:16,540 --> 00:19:22,979
So you have double welds. The pipe that
exploded only had one weld. And so the
249
00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:24,960
pipe is at risk for a crack.
250
00:19:25,530 --> 00:19:29,749
The defective weld is visible when the
pipe is installed. But since it is
251
00:19:29,750 --> 00:19:34,249
missed, it could be discovered before
the gas is turned on through a safety
252
00:19:34,250 --> 00:19:36,210
check called a hydrotest.
253
00:19:36,410 --> 00:19:41,169
The hydrotest is real simple. You throw
water pressure in there, and you crank
254
00:19:41,170 --> 00:19:43,190
it up to see if there are any leaks.
255
00:19:43,191 --> 00:19:45,569
Because if there's a leak, there's a
crack.
256
00:19:45,570 --> 00:19:48,150
And if there's a crack, that's a big
problem.
257
00:19:48,810 --> 00:19:52,410
But PG &E does not conduct a hydrotest.
258
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,360
It does not know if the pipe has a
crack.
259
00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:01,819
Later, it checks the line for corrosion
from primarily above ground with a test
260
00:20:01,820 --> 00:20:06,539
not capable of finding the defective
weld, which would be hugely expensive to
261
00:20:06,540 --> 00:20:07,590
fix.
262
00:20:07,780 --> 00:20:12,060
Haggerty believes the choice of an
ineffective test is deliberate.
263
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:18,099
This is why the corrosion assessment was
preordained. It could not locate these
264
00:20:18,100 --> 00:20:22,879
flaws in the pipeline because if they
discovered these flaws, they would have
265
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:23,579
fix them.
266
00:20:23,580 --> 00:20:29,940
And so in 1956, PG &E buries the
untested pipeline with a dangerous
267
00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:35,120
knowing that families will be moving
into the neighborhood expecting to be
268
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,239
It's just something that you would never
even fathom. I mean, the fact that
269
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:40,620
there's a ticking time bomb.
270
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:46,260
On my front lawn, of all places, it's
just unbelievable.
271
00:20:46,780 --> 00:20:47,830
But it gets worse.
272
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:53,799
In order to ensure future capacity, PG
&E deliberately increases the pressure
273
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:55,700
the line beyond what is needed.
274
00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,899
They actually exacerbated the problem
with the one piece of pipe that only had
275
00:21:01,900 --> 00:21:08,739
single well. Every time they raised that
pressure inside that pipe, they made
276
00:21:08,740 --> 00:21:09,790
the crack bigger.
277
00:21:09,950 --> 00:21:15,289
With so much at risk, why would PG &E
not play it safe and properly test the
278
00:21:15,290 --> 00:21:20,849
pipe? A possible answer is inside PG
&E's own records later used as evidence
279
00:21:20,850 --> 00:21:26,250
court. One senior manager writes, a
pressure test is not economically
280
00:21:26,650 --> 00:21:30,750
Another describes financial, not
technical reasons.
281
00:21:31,130 --> 00:21:35,450
In other words, it seems again, profits
matter more than safety.
282
00:21:36,270 --> 00:21:39,220
They can talk all they want about public
safety, it's cost.
283
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:40,810
It is cost.
284
00:21:40,811 --> 00:21:44,839
Even when they talk about safety, it's
safety to a point of, well, if it costs
285
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,999
too much, we're not going to do it. The
company even says as much in a draft of
286
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,880
an internal document from May 2008, just
over two years before the explosion.
287
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:55,760
What is not up for debate?
288
00:21:56,060 --> 00:21:57,880
8 % earnings per share growth.
289
00:21:58,440 --> 00:21:59,920
What is up for debate?
290
00:22:00,660 --> 00:22:07,240
Safety. That was a very clear and
succinct expression of PG &E's
291
00:22:07,900 --> 00:22:09,280
of profits over safety.
292
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:14,699
And it is not only shareholders who are
rewarded with good earnings. When the
293
00:22:14,700 --> 00:22:20,959
CEO in charge of PG &E in the years
leading up to the explosion retires, he
294
00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,540
leaves with a package reportedly worth
more than $35 million.
295
00:22:26,780 --> 00:22:33,259
In 2014, 17 years after PG &E's rough
-and -ready conviction, the company is
296
00:22:33,260 --> 00:22:35,200
indicted and convicted once again.
297
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:40,739
PG &E maintains that it follows the law,
but a federal jury finds it guilty of
298
00:22:40,740 --> 00:22:44,140
violating the Pipeline Safety Act and
obstructing justice.
299
00:22:44,700 --> 00:22:49,539
It is placed on probation, ordered to
pay billions of dollars in fines and
300
00:22:49,540 --> 00:22:52,160
penalties, and to make a public apology.
301
00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:56,740
We are deeply sorry. We failed our
customers in San Bruno.
302
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:02,900
In its ad, PG &E describes improvements
it makes in its gas distribution system.
303
00:23:03,310 --> 00:23:06,050
We've replaced hundreds of miles of gas
pipeline.
304
00:23:06,350 --> 00:23:07,650
And makes a commitment.
305
00:23:08,130 --> 00:23:13,769
That's why we're working every day to
make PG &E the safest energy company in
306
00:23:13,770 --> 00:23:14,629
the nation.
307
00:23:14,630 --> 00:23:18,570
It's an admirable goal, but so far out
of reach.
308
00:23:19,010 --> 00:23:23,790
Especially as the electric side of the
business faces an increasing threat,
309
00:23:24,050 --> 00:23:25,100
climate change.
310
00:23:25,730 --> 00:23:28,200
California temperatures are breaking
records.
311
00:23:28,510 --> 00:23:31,070
Trees and grasses are bone dry.
312
00:23:31,710 --> 00:23:37,529
The danger posed by a spark thrown from
a power line is greater than ever, and
313
00:23:37,530 --> 00:23:39,890
PG &E is not prepared.
314
00:23:39,891 --> 00:23:44,029
They could have chosen to put insulated
lines, but they didn't. They could have
315
00:23:44,030 --> 00:23:47,770
chosen to bury lines underground, but
they didn't.
316
00:23:48,230 --> 00:23:50,250
Both of those are expensive.
317
00:23:50,450 --> 00:23:56,969
So they choose to put naked conductors
in rural areas, and now they have to
318
00:23:56,970 --> 00:24:00,410
guard against the risk of tree line
contact.
319
00:24:05,290 --> 00:24:07,490
And so the deadly fires begin.
320
00:24:09,750 --> 00:24:16,189
In 2015, in Jackson, California, a tree
hits a wire and the Butte fire takes off
321
00:24:16,190 --> 00:24:19,390
torching 70 ,000 acres.
322
00:24:24,010 --> 00:24:28,070
Burning more than 500 homes and killing
two.
323
00:24:30,630 --> 00:24:32,070
In 2017,
324
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:38,480
Twelve different fires caused by trees
hitting PG &E lines killed 18 people.
325
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,220
California reels from the death and
destruction.
326
00:24:43,140 --> 00:24:47,060
Sadly, the deadliest fire of all is
still to come.
327
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,880
Up next, panic in paradise.
328
00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:55,459
The entire town of paradise is under
mandatory evacuation. Please leave
329
00:24:55,460 --> 00:24:56,510
immediately.
330
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:13,419
In 2018, as Northern California
struggles to recover from a series of
331
00:25:13,420 --> 00:25:14,680
devastating wildfires,
332
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:20,420
PG &E crews work to trim back trees
dangerously close to power lines.
333
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,760
But there is another looming threat that
is missed entirely.
334
00:25:26,260 --> 00:25:31,519
It is here in the Feather River Canyon
that runs through the Sierra Nevada
335
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,020
northeast of Sacramento.
336
00:25:33,620 --> 00:25:37,280
This is PG &E's Caribou Palermo power
line.
337
00:25:37,790 --> 00:25:42,889
part of the company's hydroelectric
stairway of power that once brought
338
00:25:42,890 --> 00:25:44,770
to the entire Bay Area.
339
00:25:45,110 --> 00:25:50,530
At the time that it was built, it was
considered an engineering marvel.
340
00:25:50,990 --> 00:25:56,469
For almost a century, the towers that
hold the line take a beating from the
341
00:25:56,470 --> 00:25:59,210
winds that rip through these canyons
every fall.
342
00:25:59,630 --> 00:26:00,680
The clock.
343
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:07,359
at between 30 and 50 miles an hour most
of the night and into the morning. And
344
00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:10,440
so these are devil winds.
345
00:26:11,260 --> 00:26:16,139
Just above the canyon is a collection of
small mountain towns, both beautiful
346
00:26:16,140 --> 00:26:17,220
and affordable.
347
00:26:19,380 --> 00:26:24,280
One is Megalia, where Skye Sedgwick
lives with her father, John.
348
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,840
We lived in an old cabin that had so
much family history.
349
00:26:29,620 --> 00:26:33,919
We used to joke about every person that
came through that house would leave a
350
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:34,970
bit of them.
351
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:41,539
What Skye admires about her dad is that
at the age of 82, he is still full of
352
00:26:41,540 --> 00:26:46,000
energy. A retired volunteer fireman,
there is not much he can't handle.
353
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:53,059
We actually had a chimney fire in our
house the winter before the
354
00:26:53,060 --> 00:26:55,680
campfire, and my dad put it out by
himself.
355
00:26:57,630 --> 00:27:00,450
I climbed up into the rafters and put it
out.
356
00:27:02,290 --> 00:27:07,489
Just five miles south of Magalia is a
town called Paradise, where Richard
357
00:27:07,490 --> 00:27:14,109
Salazar moves in 1979 with four
siblings, all adopted out of foster care
358
00:27:14,110 --> 00:27:15,770
Phyllis and Chris Salazar.
359
00:27:17,530 --> 00:27:20,720
We're all pretty damaged. You have
problems in that kind of life.
360
00:27:21,610 --> 00:27:22,950
You don't know who to trust.
361
00:27:24,150 --> 00:27:25,790
And I felt I could trust them.
362
00:27:26,410 --> 00:27:30,490
And in paradise, Richard finds an ideal
family life.
363
00:27:30,750 --> 00:27:36,349
I played little league and dad coached.
Mom was always doing something with the
364
00:27:36,350 --> 00:27:37,850
church or something like that.
365
00:27:38,130 --> 00:27:42,510
A coach drive. She baked for Christmas.
366
00:27:43,190 --> 00:27:46,350
It just, it felt like a hometown.
367
00:27:47,270 --> 00:27:53,269
As idyllic as life is in these small
towns, everyone lives with the threat of
368
00:27:53,270 --> 00:27:54,320
fire.
369
00:27:54,410 --> 00:27:58,029
My dad, every night at dinner time when
the winds were blowing and the
370
00:27:58,030 --> 00:28:01,100
temperature was high, he would say,
please, Jesus, no fires.
371
00:28:02,370 --> 00:28:06,710
On November 8, 2018, the canyon winds
are blowing.
372
00:28:11,090 --> 00:28:16,509
Early in the morning, a fire is reported
near Camp Creek Road, adjacent to a
373
00:28:16,510 --> 00:28:18,630
tower on the Caribou -Palermo line.
374
00:28:19,090 --> 00:28:21,430
And from there, the campfire takes on.
375
00:28:22,420 --> 00:28:24,770
storming up the walls of Feather River
Canyon.
376
00:28:25,460 --> 00:28:29,960
In Magalia, Skye Sedwick watches a
mounting tower of smoke.
377
00:28:30,900 --> 00:28:35,199
That was the closest I'd ever seen it.
We'd seen smoke before, and we'd been
378
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:37,790
evacuated before, but I'd never seen it
that close.
379
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:42,980
When Skye makes the decision to leave,
her dad says that he will wait for a
380
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:50,599
I started to walk away, me and my dog,
and I stopped, and I turned
381
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:51,650
around.
382
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,940
I gave him a hug, and I said, I love
you, Dad.
383
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:05,519
At the time, Richard Salazar is at work,
away from town, when he hears about the
384
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,020
fire heading toward paradise and toward
his parents.
385
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,860
It was the norm up there for shelter in
place until you were told what to do.
386
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:19,219
So the day of the fire, there was
shelter in place. My niece called my
387
00:29:19,220 --> 00:29:21,570
she said, Grandma, you need to get out
of there.
388
00:29:21,571 --> 00:29:25,759
It's on fire. He says, no, no, no, they
haven't told us what normally they tell
389
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:26,810
us.
390
00:29:27,300 --> 00:29:32,459
Shortly after nine, the order to
evacuate Paradise comes in. I'm
391
00:29:32,460 --> 00:29:35,950
entire town of Paradise is under
mandatory evacuation. Please leave
392
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:41,880
But like Richard's parents, many
residents are elderly and disabled and
393
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,000
Yes, I don't have a vehicle.
394
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,640
She is paraplegic. She can't. She's in a
wheelchair.
395
00:29:47,860 --> 00:29:48,910
She can't move.
396
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:50,680
We can't breathe. Please help us.
397
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:52,660
Can you get out of the house?
398
00:29:53,660 --> 00:29:55,559
The next
399
00:29:55,560 --> 00:30:05,480
day,
400
00:30:05,580 --> 00:30:11,259
as embers turn into ashes, state fire
investigators are focusing on a
401
00:30:11,260 --> 00:30:13,680
source of the spark that touched off the
fire.
402
00:30:14,060 --> 00:30:17,500
A tower on PG &E's Caribou Palermo line.
403
00:30:17,940 --> 00:30:20,460
Tower 27222.
404
00:30:21,550 --> 00:30:26,150
Its 150 -volt line gets loose and hits
the steel tower.
405
00:30:26,990 --> 00:30:32,410
It creates an arc of current so hot that
it actually melts the tower.
406
00:30:33,470 --> 00:30:36,930
Molten metal showers down into the dry
brush below.
407
00:30:37,870 --> 00:30:41,810
And so Butte County law enforcement
takes immediate action.
408
00:30:42,150 --> 00:30:48,350
We needed to block it off, rope it off,
make sure that for the duration.
409
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,400
that that was now going to be treated as
a crime scene.
410
00:30:54,020 --> 00:30:57,680
Up next, the failure of PG &E.
411
00:30:58,060 --> 00:31:04,799
That, in a sense of homicide case, this
is the
412
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:05,850
smoking gun.
413
00:31:19,950 --> 00:31:26,749
In November 2018, after 17 days of
extraordinary destruction, the campfire
414
00:31:26,750 --> 00:31:32,010
finally contained, and residents return
home to see what has survived.
415
00:31:32,850 --> 00:31:36,130
There was nothing, and not even a tree.
416
00:31:36,570 --> 00:31:38,860
There's not even one tree left on my
property.
417
00:31:39,050 --> 00:31:43,430
For Skye Sedgwick, by far the greatest
loss is the loss of her father.
418
00:31:43,670 --> 00:31:46,270
She learns he fought the fire all day.
419
00:31:46,470 --> 00:31:49,050
His body is found behind their house.
420
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:57,040
I just hope that he wasn't frightened,
that he wasn't scared.
421
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:02,579
And when I think about how he was when
we had that chimney fire, he wasn't
422
00:32:02,580 --> 00:32:03,630
afraid at all.
423
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,300
I think he was okay.
424
00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,920
In paradise, hundreds of people are
missing.
425
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:20,839
It takes several weeks for Richard
Salazar to learn that his parents did
426
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:21,890
make it to safety.
427
00:32:22,940 --> 00:32:29,039
I know my parents. During challenging
times, my dad was always holding Mom's
428
00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:31,330
hand. They were always comforting each
other.
429
00:32:33,100 --> 00:32:39,399
So I know, I know, my dad was, you know,
they were comforting each other at that
430
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:40,450
moment.
431
00:32:40,451 --> 00:32:44,489
That's what I want to believe, that's
what I'm going to believe.
432
00:32:44,490 --> 00:32:45,930
Because that's who they were.
433
00:32:49,330 --> 00:32:53,930
In all, 84 people do not survive the
campfire.
434
00:32:55,070 --> 00:33:00,429
What is inconceivable to many is that
the cause of the deadly fire all boils
435
00:33:00,430 --> 00:33:02,050
down to a single hook.
436
00:33:02,610 --> 00:33:07,670
A small but essential component of Tower
27222.
437
00:33:08,550 --> 00:33:12,390
That hook holds up that aluminum line.
438
00:33:13,580 --> 00:33:19,860
through which 115 ,000 volts of higher
energy, electricity,
439
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:21,360
is going through.
440
00:33:21,860 --> 00:33:26,880
For 100 years, the Seahook is buffeted
by the canyon's high winds.
441
00:33:27,340 --> 00:33:33,879
Rocking back and forth in its steel
housing, the hook wears through, breaks,
442
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:34,930
the line falls.
443
00:33:35,220 --> 00:33:38,780
And that was what's left, and that's...
444
00:33:40,140 --> 00:33:46,859
That, in a sense of homicide case, this
is the
445
00:33:46,860 --> 00:33:47,839
smoking gun.
446
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:54,620
This is the weapon that took out the
lives, hopes,
447
00:33:54,860 --> 00:34:01,519
dreams, and souls of some 84 of our
Butte County
448
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:06,020
citizens. And the question to answer
seems obvious.
449
00:34:09,949 --> 00:34:16,928
regular thick hook like this, and then a
hook that is
450
00:34:16,929 --> 00:34:23,829
worn through, and no one sees it. Why
has this major utility company
451
00:34:23,830 --> 00:34:28,409
not done the proper maintenance?
452
00:34:29,739 --> 00:34:35,138
At some point in the past, PG &E does
recognize the danger of wear on its
453
00:34:35,139 --> 00:34:41,678
infrastructure and adds reinforcements
to the arm that holds the C -hook. PG &E
454
00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:48,638
said, oh, the steel structure itself may
be a little too soft, so
455
00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:52,300
we'll put in a harder angle iron or a
hanger plate.
456
00:34:52,620 --> 00:34:54,600
And in its own records...
457
00:34:54,830 --> 00:34:59,110
PG &E has documentation that suspension
hooks wear thin.
458
00:34:59,410 --> 00:35:03,790
And this was many years before the Butte
County campfire.
459
00:35:04,050 --> 00:35:08,929
That tells prosecutors that the cause of
the campfire, the failing C -hook,
460
00:35:08,930 --> 00:35:10,430
should have been foreseeable.
461
00:35:10,630 --> 00:35:14,480
It's not like these hooks are going to
get more steel on them. They're wearing.
462
00:35:14,590 --> 00:35:17,110
Every day they're flipping around in the
wind.
463
00:35:17,330 --> 00:35:19,930
Every day they're wearing thinner and
thinner.
464
00:35:20,170 --> 00:35:23,730
But to eliminate dangers, a company has
to look for them.
465
00:35:24,010 --> 00:35:29,369
And at PG &E, routine climbing
inspections of the towers are repeatedly
466
00:35:29,370 --> 00:35:35,329
back. In the late 1980s, the policy is
to regularly climb the towers for safety
467
00:35:35,330 --> 00:35:38,510
checks. But that changes in 1995.
468
00:35:39,250 --> 00:35:42,210
In 1995, they got rid of climbing
inspections.
469
00:35:42,470 --> 00:35:49,370
They reduced the number of overall
inspections and patrols. 2005,
470
00:35:49,730 --> 00:35:50,780
they did that again.
471
00:35:52,170 --> 00:35:57,209
Yeah, and they went from doing an
inspection every year to doing an
472
00:35:57,210 --> 00:36:03,370
every other year to the current, which
is doing an inspection every five years.
473
00:36:03,710 --> 00:36:06,050
And that seems counterintuitive.
474
00:36:06,550 --> 00:36:09,430
Someone gets older, you better inspect
it more.
475
00:36:09,710 --> 00:36:13,870
What we saw was as it got older, it got
inspected less.
476
00:36:14,390 --> 00:36:19,990
But PG &E is still doing aerial
inspections, just not like they used to.
477
00:36:20,870 --> 00:36:25,329
According to Butte County prosecutors,
PG &E used to take a day and a half to
478
00:36:25,330 --> 00:36:28,270
inspect the towers of the Caribou
-Palermo line.
479
00:36:29,210 --> 00:36:31,250
Not anymore, prosecutors say.
480
00:36:31,670 --> 00:36:37,450
In 2017, PG &E inspected more than 400
towers in just over two hours.
481
00:36:38,690 --> 00:36:43,349
The air patrols are just a flyby.
They're flying high, they're flying
482
00:36:43,350 --> 00:36:47,129
they're just looking down to make sure
that the towers are still standing
483
00:36:47,130 --> 00:36:48,180
upright.
484
00:36:50,670 --> 00:36:55,430
For James Haggerty, the issues
surrounding the campfire sound familiar.
485
00:36:55,930 --> 00:37:01,209
And when I met with the investigative
team in Butte County, slowly but surely,
486
00:37:01,210 --> 00:37:05,549
lot of the themes that we discovered in
San Bruno could be applied to the Butte
487
00:37:05,550 --> 00:37:06,690
County investigation.
488
00:37:07,350 --> 00:37:11,230
They had an old electrical tower. We had
an old pipeline.
489
00:37:11,590 --> 00:37:14,150
We had a pipeline that was improperly
assessed.
490
00:37:14,510 --> 00:37:18,330
They learned that this electrical tower
was improperly assessed.
491
00:37:19,050 --> 00:37:24,289
And what is infuriating to victims is
that for years, while PG &E fails to
492
00:37:24,290 --> 00:37:29,069
ensure that its equipment is safe, it
pays out billions of dollars to
493
00:37:29,070 --> 00:37:30,120
shareholders.
494
00:37:30,310 --> 00:37:32,610
That says safety is not number one.
495
00:37:33,190 --> 00:37:35,420
Giving money to shareholders is number
one.
496
00:37:35,730 --> 00:37:42,089
In March 2020, after a year -long
investigation, Butte County indicts PG
497
00:37:42,090 --> 00:37:47,929
84 counts of involuntary manslaughter
and one count of unlawfully starting a
498
00:37:47,930 --> 00:37:54,519
fire. We were going to do it. We were
going to go to the end and make sure
499
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:56,680
justice was found.
500
00:37:57,300 --> 00:38:02,340
Up next, faced with 84 dead, who does
the court send to prison?
501
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:22,659
In the spring of 2020, in the Butte
County Courthouse in Chico, California,
502
00:38:22,660 --> 00:38:27,040
&E enters its plea to 84 counts of
involuntary manslaughter.
503
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,780
The prosecutors have set the scene.
504
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:37,919
We had pictures of 84 people on that
wall there that paid the price
505
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:43,120
of PG &E's greed in a very real way.
506
00:38:43,790 --> 00:38:49,749
William Johnson, at the time the
company's newly hired CEO, is there to
507
00:38:49,750 --> 00:38:55,449
for PG &E. As it relates to count one,
as alleged in count five, count 13, as
508
00:38:55,450 --> 00:39:01,430
alleged in count 36, count 52, count 68,
on behalf of PG &E, have you pleaded?
509
00:39:01,590 --> 00:39:05,690
The answer is repeated an astounding 84
times.
510
00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:20,280
For the families of the victims, PG &E's
failure is bewildering.
511
00:39:20,500 --> 00:39:22,060
And I just don't understand why.
512
00:39:24,700 --> 00:39:28,140
Is money that more important? I would
rather have the people.
513
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,900
If I give it all away, I'd rather have
my parents.
514
00:39:32,940 --> 00:39:35,440
That's all we have is each other.
515
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:45,479
In 2019, facing billions of dollars in
liabilities and lawsuits from wildfire
516
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:52,079
victims, PG &E declares bankruptcy and
emerges in 2020 with what it says is a
517
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:53,740
new commitment to safety.
518
00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:59,700
In publicity videos like these, it
points to a long list of improvements,
519
00:39:59,780 --> 00:40:05,339
including inspecting and repairing aging
equipment and installing weather
520
00:40:05,340 --> 00:40:09,160
stations and using drones to mitigate
fire risk.
521
00:40:09,470 --> 00:40:13,170
The company denies that it has placed
profits over safety.
522
00:40:13,450 --> 00:40:18,769
In a statement to American Greed, it
says, in part, while we cannot change
523
00:40:18,770 --> 00:40:24,649
past, we can learn from it. And adds, we
can never let up in our pursuit of
524
00:40:24,650 --> 00:40:26,290
safety and doing what is right.
525
00:40:27,150 --> 00:40:32,070
But victims ask, why does it seem to
take a disaster to make things right?
526
00:40:33,010 --> 00:40:34,990
We are trusting the utility.
527
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:41,260
to uncover defects, to replace
infrastructure before they fail.
528
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:46,379
And they also wondered if the answer is
more technology or more accountability
529
00:40:46,380 --> 00:40:47,600
at the top.
530
00:40:47,900 --> 00:40:51,380
Not one CEO saw the inside of a jail
cell.
531
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:57,539
If you're going to be in a power
position making key decisions that are
532
00:40:57,540 --> 00:41:03,819
affect the public entity, they should be
accountable for those actions and for
533
00:41:03,820 --> 00:41:04,870
those decisions.
534
00:41:05,390 --> 00:41:08,630
And they weren't. Butte County
prosecutors agree.
535
00:41:09,090 --> 00:41:11,750
We wanted to get individual liability.
536
00:41:12,230 --> 00:41:18,569
We wanted to be able to snap the
handcuffs on the people that are
537
00:41:18,570 --> 00:41:21,390
responsible for this. We didn't achieve
that goal.
538
00:41:21,670 --> 00:41:26,789
And that's because decisions that lead
to PG &E's disasters are made over the
539
00:41:26,790 --> 00:41:31,530
course of decades, making it difficult
to place blame on individual offenders.
540
00:41:32,330 --> 00:41:36,989
But it is Butte County's hope that this
time the criminal conviction will have a
541
00:41:36,990 --> 00:41:39,950
compelling impact on the culture at PG
&E.
542
00:41:40,550 --> 00:41:47,229
Hopefully the people at PG &E take us
seriously and make changes, that they
543
00:41:47,230 --> 00:41:51,709
learn from their mistakes, that they
don't continue making the same mistake
544
00:41:51,710 --> 00:41:52,850
and over and over again.
545
00:41:53,870 --> 00:41:57,570
That wish is shared by thousands of
people in California.
546
00:41:58,250 --> 00:42:03,589
who are tired of catastrophes caused by
a company that repeatedly promises to
547
00:42:03,590 --> 00:42:04,850
keep them safe.
548
00:42:05,290 --> 00:42:10,889
I think about how many different people
didn't do their job or how many people
549
00:42:10,890 --> 00:42:12,709
said, no, we're not spending that money
today.
550
00:42:12,710 --> 00:42:16,570
Or, you know, that's not important right
now.
551
00:42:17,330 --> 00:42:21,110
How many missed opportunities to prevent
this?
552
00:42:22,290 --> 00:42:25,590
It's mind -numbing.
553
00:42:25,850 --> 00:42:26,950
It really is.
554
00:42:29,450 --> 00:42:31,310
Because it didn't have to be like this.
555
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,910
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