A July wildfire in California could prove to be the state’s second in seven years traceable to a faulty electrical panel.
Dubbed the Nixon fire, the blaze started July 29 and scorched more than 5,000 acres of mostly rugged terrain in a sparsely populated area of Riverside County over the ensuing days. At least two dozen structures (including homes and businesses) were destroyed and others were damaged, but no injuries were reported. At its peak, some 1,000 firefighters were working to contain it while evacuation orders were in place in some areas.
Cal Fire, the state fire agency, said a preliminary investigation pointed to a faulty electrical panel in the vicinity of the community of Aguanga in the county’s southern tip. An investigation of a 2017 wildfire in Butte County that burned 6,000 acres over the span of a week in northern California — destroying 41 homes and damaging 36 others — found a defective residential electrical panel sparked that blaze.
The agency’s first official statement following the Nixon fire was that “Cal Fire peace officers, after an origin and cause investigation, determined the cause of the 'Nixon Fire' was electrical, caused by a privately owned electrical panel.”
Media reports elaborated on the possible circumstances. One, in Patch, reported that Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokesperson Rob Roseen said the panel was freestanding and not attached to any structure. Additionally, he said, the investigation was ongoing and that no arrests were made. A Cal Fire captain told EC&M that there would be no official comment on the investigation until the incident is “fully adjudicated,” which could take years, he said.
It did take two years for an investigation into Butte County’s Wall fire to conclude. In 2019, the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced its cause as a faulty electrical panel in a residence — and it said Butte County prosecutors reviewed the case but brought no charges. With the cause confirmed, Cal Fire Butte County cautioned, “We hope valuable lessons were learned by this fire and remind residents to keep electrical and other ignition sources in good repair and clear of flammable materials and vegetation.”
While there are now at least two recent California wildfires linked to electrical panels, electric utility infrastructure in the state is implicated in many more, including the 2018 Camp fire, the state’s deadliest and most destructive. Poorly maintained Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines sparked that Butte County fire, which killed 85 and caused $16 billion in property damage.
There’s some evidence that building fires caused by electrical malfunctions have been creeping up in number. Recent Federal Emergency Management Administration data document 26,100 such fires between 2013 and 2022, resulting in 185 fatalities, 850 injuries, and $1.492 billion in property damage. Over than span the number of fires rose 6% and property damage costs rose 27%. Deaths and injuries, however, declined (see Figure).
