Critics are calling for state officials to force utility companies to cooperate in wildfire investigations.
"In my language I call that Rule 1 -- I think you got to, and I think you've got to send a message to the utlities that you must cooperate," Michael Shames, the executive director of the consumer group UCAN, saidTuesday at a public hearing.
The demands are part of an effort by the California Public Utilities Commission to reduce the risk of fires. Its recent investigation found that downed San Diego Gas & Electric utility lines sparked three wildfires last October, burning thousands of acres, and that SDG&E obstructed an investigation.
SDG&E countered those accusations, saying that no electrical system could have fully stood up to last October's Santa Ana winds. The utility also denied obstructing the investigation.
