California Focuses On Power Lines As Top Cause Of Wildfires

(AP) - California lawmakers are looking into power lines as a top cause of wildfires.

State Senator Jerry Hill, a Democrat from the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Mateo, grilled utility executives and state utility regulators at a hearing Wednesday in San Francisco. The hearing comes after Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in September said one of the year's most devastating fires may have started when a tree brushed against a PG&E power line. That fire killed two people and burned more than 900 homes and other structures in the Sierra foothills. Fire investigators have yet to announce their official findings.

PG&E Vice President Pat Hogan told Hill that the utility was moving forward on wildfire-prevention efforts even as the state develops new regulations.