Camp Fire, 2018
The Camp Fire started on PG&E's Caribou-Palermo transmission line near Pulga on the morning of November 8, 2018. It killed 85 people, destroyed 18,804 structures and left Paradise and Concow almost completely destroyed. PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
- Where
- Butte County: Paradise, Concow and Magalia, starting near Pulga
- Utility
- PG&E
- Record
- Criminal conviction
- Started on
- Transmission line
- Acres burned
- 153,336
- Days to containment
- 17
Source: CAL FIRE
- Structures destroyed
- 18,804
- Deaths
- 85
Criminal conviction
The utility pleaded guilty or was found guilty in criminal court.
CAL FIRE found that PG&E's electrical transmission lines near Pulga caused the fire. In June 2020 PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire.
Transmission line
A high-voltage line that carries bulk power between substations, the kind the Golden Pacific Powerlink would be.
PG&E's Caribou-Palermo 115 kV transmission line, at tower 27/222.
What happened
- Started
November 8, 2018, at 6:33 a.m., at Pulga Road and Camp Creek Road near Jarbo Gap.
Sources: CAL FIRE; PG&E Corporation, filed with the SEC
- Contained
November 25, 2018, after 17 days.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Towns
Paradise and Concow were almost completely destroyed, each losing about 95 percent of its structures.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Buildings
18,804 structures destroyed and 754 damaged.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Deaths and injuries
85 civilians were killed. CAL FIRE's incident page lists three civilian injuries; its retrospective says 12 civilians and five firefighters were injured.
- Evacuations
40,000 people, by NIST's count.
- Paradise's population
The Census counted 26,218 people in Paradise in 2010 and 4,764 in 2020. That is a head count, not a count of who never came back.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The cause
- What failed
PG&E reported damage to a transposition jumper and a suspension insulator at the tower. CAL FIRE also identified a second ignition site, and said that fire was consumed by the first.
Sources: PG&E 8-K exhibit 99.1: update on the financial impact of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires; PG&E Form 10-K for 2019
- Shutoffs
PG&E's shutoff program did not cover transmission lines of 115 kV or more. PG&E had warned Paradise and Magalia it might cut power, and cancelled those advisories about nine hours after the fire started, KQED reported.
Source: KQED
- Criminal case
PG&E pleaded guilty in Butte County Superior Court on June 16 to 18, 2020, and paid a $3.5 million fine and penalty and $500,000 to the District Attorney's environmental and consumer protection fund.
What it cost
- Fire Victim Trust
PG&E's bankruptcy plan settled fire victims' claims for the 2015 Butte, 2017 North Bay and 2018 Camp fires together, with an aggregate $13.5 billion in value. It is not broken out by fire.
Sources: PG&E Corporation, filed with the SEC; Fire Victim Trust
- Paid by the Trust
$13.95 billion paid to claimants and $19.57 billion awarded, for the three fires together, as the Trust reported in October 2026.
Source: Fire Victim Trust
- CPUC penalty
$1.937 billion for PG&E's 2017 and 2018 wildfires together, the largest penalty the CPUC had ever assessed, approved in May 2020: $1.823 billion of wildfire costs PG&E may not charge customers and $114 million for system enhancements and corrective actions. A $200 million fine was also imposed, with payment permanently suspended.
Sources: California Public Utilities Commission; PG&E Corporation, filed with the SEC
- Insured losses
Up to $11.4 billion for the November 2018 wildfires, the Camp and Woolsey fires together. The Department of Insurance does not break out Camp.
Not published
We looked for these and found no source that publishes them:
- When evacuation orders were lifted
- How many households never returned
- Insured losses for this fire alone