SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge is threatening to force Pacific Gas & Electric to hire more tree trimmers to reduce the chances of its electrical grid igniting fires in Northern California.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup notified PG&E he expects more precautions to be taken on Thursday, a day after the San Francisco company acknowledged that as many as 22,000 trees may still be creating fire hazards.
Alsup is overseeing requirements imposed on the company after the utility's natural gas lines blew up a neighborhood a decade ago.
PG&E has asserted it can safely maintain the millions of trees in its territory.
