KINCADE FIRE

Start date: October 23, 2019

Sonoma County: 77,758 acres burned

Damage: 374 buildings destroyed, including 174 homes

Cost: Up to $10.6 Billion

Probable cause: Broken PG&E high voltage transmission equipment

The first thing you need to know about the Kincade fire is that there is strong evidence pointing to the conclusion that PG&E equipment was responsible for that fire. While no definitive determination has yet been made regarding the source of the Kincade Fire, PG&E reported that it became aware of a broken jumper cable on a high voltage transmission line shortly before the fire broke out, and that this broken jumper cable was in the general vicinity of the area in which the fire appeared to have started. A similar broken jumper cable may have been responsible for the 2018 Camp Fire, so it is a good bet that a broken jumper cable was involved in the start of the Kincade Fire.

The second thing you need to know is that Kincade Fire claims will be treated under the Bankruptcy Code as administrative claims. This is important because administrative claims have priority over other unsecured claims. Thus, claims related to fires occurring during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings have priority over claims related to fires occurring before PG&E’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition. So Kincade Fire claimants are likely to receive one hundred cents on every dollar owed to them, but that may not be the case for claimants involving pre-petition fires.