This offending tree was one of 767 violations in that county alone, all of which PG&E knew about and ignored, while simultaneously reducing tree-trimming crews from three to two men, shifting their cutting schedule from three to five years, and lobbying the California legislature to change the recommended clearance between the treetops and power lines from four feet to just six inches. The Trauner fire of 2004, much like the East Coast blackout of 2003, was caused by a tree that was at least a decade behind on its trimming schedule.
