Rice Fire, 2007
The Rice Fire started in Fallbrook on October 22, 2007, when a sycamore limb brought an SDG&E power line to the ground. It burned 9,472 acres, destroyed 248 structures and closed Interstate 15.
- Where
- Fallbrook, starting in Rice Canyon on Clearwater Road
- Utility
- SDG&E
- Record
- Found by investigators
- Started on
- Distribution line
- Acres burned
- 9,472
Sources: CAL FIRE; County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services
- Days to containment
- 10
Source: CAL FIRE
- Structures destroyed
- 248
Source: CAL FIRE
- Deaths
- None listed
Source: CAL FIRE
Found by investigators
The agency that investigated the fire found that the utility's equipment started it.
Cal Fire found that the fire ignited when a limb from a sycamore tree broke and knocked an SDG&E 12 kV line to the ground.
Distribution line
A lower-voltage line that carries power along streets and roads to homes and businesses.
An SDG&E 12 kV distribution line, brought down by a falling sycamore limb.
What happened
- Started
October 22, 2007, in Rice Canyon on Clearwater Road. The county's timeline puts the start at 4:16 a.m.; CAL FIRE's incident page lists 4:16 p.m.
Sources: County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services; CAL FIRE
- Contained
November 1, 2007, after 10 days.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Damage
248 structures destroyed and five people injured, by CAL FIRE's count. CAL FIRE lists no deaths.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Evacuations
The fire closed Interstate 15 and forced thousands of evacuations in northern San Diego County. Parts of Fallbrook were cleared to return on October 25, and every area the fire affected on October 26.
The cause
- What failed
A limb from a sycamore broke and fell on SDG&E's 12 kV overhead conductors, knocking the line to the ground.
Sources: Decision 18-07-025, SDG&E 2007 wildfire cost recovery (A.15-09-010); Report of the Consumer Protection and Safety Division on the Guejito, Witch and Rice fires
- What SDG&E says
SDG&E argued that it could not have prevented the fire, because it had no way to know the branch was defective and the branch had not been marked for trimming. The CPUC found that SDG&E did not reasonably manage and operate its facilities before the 2007 fires.
What it cost
- These figures cover all three fires
The Witch, Guejito and Rice fires were settled and reviewed together, and the sources give their costs for all three combined, not fire by fire.
Sources: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR); California Public Utilities Commission
- Total costs, per the CPUC
$2.4 billion in costs and legal fees, by the CPUC's account. Part was recovered from SDG&E's liability insurance, and about $824 million from Cox Communications and three contractors.
Sources: California Public Utilities Commission; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)
- Paid to people who sued
About $1.25 billion to about 6,500 plaintiffs, SDG&E reported in 2014.
- Paid to insurers
SDG&E said it has paid or will pay 57.5 percent of the roughly $1.6 billion insurers paid or reserved for their policyholders.
- Public agencies
$27 million to the City of San Diego, $24.5 million to San Diego County and $6.4 million to the U.S. Forest Service, as reported in 2012.
Source: POWER Magazine
- Charged to customers
SDG&E asked to recover $379 million of its 2007 wildfire costs from customers. The CPUC refused in 2017, finding that SDG&E "did not reasonably manage and operate its facilities prior to the 2007 Southern California Wildfires", and denied rehearing in 2018.
Sources: Decision 17-11-033, denying SDG&E's request to recover 2007 wildfire costs; Decision 18-07-025, SDG&E 2007 wildfire cost recovery (A.15-09-010)
- CPUC penalty
In 2010 SDG&E agreed to pay $14,350,000 to the state's General Fund, plus up to $400,000 to the CPUC's safety division, to settle the CPUC's investigation. It did not admit any safety violation. Cox Communications paid $2,000,000.
Not published
We looked for these and found no source that publishes them:
- How many households never returned
- Insured losses for this fire alone
- Any criminal charge (we found none)