The holiday season, a time supposed to be filled with joy, is instead reeling with loss and ruin for the community still recovering from the fire that wiped out a mountain town. Four months after the Dixie Fire, families in Greenville, California are still displaced. 

   In a state known for its ravenous blazes, the Dixie Fire is on record as California’s second largest wildfire. The fire first began on July 13, 2021 and finally fizzled out on October 25, 2021 but not before burning 963,309 acres of land. Over 9,000 structures were destroyed and 31 people were killed. Smoke from the fire spread across the Western United States causing extreme unhealthy air quality and further endangering many communities. 

   The damage caused by the fire has had immense impacts physically, mentally, economically, and environmentally, and someone has to answer to the finances and responsibility of it. Just recently, someone has stepped forward; the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Earlier in the span of the fire, PG&E had suggested that some of their equipment may have been involved but never took complete responsibility until fire officials concluded that one of their power lines came into contact with a tree. The company recounted the events of the day of the accident, starting with a repairman who was responding to a circuit outage. It took the repairman about nine and a half hours to reach the area due to alleged roadwork, and upon arrival “spotted blown fuses in a conductor atop a pole, a tree leaning into the conductor and fire at the base of the tree” ABC10 reported. 

   PG&E is no stranger to being linked to fires with the company being fined 125 million for its role in the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. It has also been linked to the deadly Camp Fire in 2019 and Zogg Fire in 2020. 

   Due to past occurrences and failure to mend the mistakes with their equipment, prosecutors are hammering down on the company for causing the Dixie Fire. In response to the findings, PG&E said, “Regardless of today’s finding, we will continue to be tenacious in our efforts to stop fire ignitions from our equipment and to ensure that everyone and everything is always safe,” CNN stated. Investigations are ongoing and prosecutors are still determining whether or not they can go forward with criminal charges. There is some debate over how the prosecution should proceed, and some students had ideas of their own.

   “Yes, they are responsible because they might have messed up when setting up the power lines,” said Anna Vincent, a sophomore, when asked if they should be criminally charged.

   “If there was neglect, then yes, I think so. Even if it was an accident they should have inspected their equipment,” chimed in Miriam Ragsdale, a sophomore. 

   The dates of any future court proceedings have not been determined, but when they do, the nation will be waiting to see how justice will be served for the atrocious losses caused by this one company’s error.