American power company PacifiCorp has been sued by five homeowners who lost their homes in the McKinney fire. The power company allegedly failed to maintain its equipment properly, which could have caused the fire. An official cause of the fire has not yet been determined, although authorities have ruled out the possibility of the fire being caused by lightning.
The McKinney fire started on July 29 and is the largest wildfire of the year in the US state so far. Nearly 25,000 acres went up in flames, 185 homes were destroyed and four people died in the blaze, according to the Calfire fire agency. Eleven people were also injured in the fire, which is now almost under control.
It wouldn’t be the first time a power company has been responsible for disastrous wildfires across the state. Defective equipment at power company PG&E has been the cause of several fires in recent years, including California’s largest fire ever, the 2021 Dixie fire, and the deadliest fire in state history, the 2018 Camp fire.