The 2021 Dixie Fire in California burned 963,309 acres. It destroyed 1,311 structures and damaged more. It caused four injuries. Fortunately, no one was killed. The cause of the fire was a falling tree.

A 65-foot-tall Douglas fir fell into power lines. Two fuses blew. A third stayed open, keeping a power line energized. The fault energized the tree, causing heat and then fire. The fire spread.

That tree was in an area where trees had been inspected by the utility, Pacific Gas and Electric. The fir appeared green in some photos before the fire, which wouldn’t necessarily trigger a closer inspection. After the fire, an arborist hired to investigate by the state said a wound on the trunk should have been visible. “It would have been visible as a catface, an open injury on the trunk. A cursory visual inspection around the base of the tree would have revealed the poor mechanical condition of the tree,” the arborist wrote.

There was some level of inspection of possible threats from trees near power lines. There were fuses designed to cut power. A wildfire still began.

The Dixie Fire’s cause was brought up in the discussion in the Oregon Legislature over what the state should require of utilities to reduce wildfire risk. State Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, is in the middle of this debate as one of the sponsors of House Bill 3666. The bill requires that public utilities that provide electricity must apply to Oregon’s Public Utility Commission for a wildfire safety certification. Consumer-owned utilities, such as cooperatives, would have the option to also apply.

Kropf asked a series of questions of people who testified on the bill this week. How do we set high standards? How do we implement those standards? What would the implications be if the bill passed, a wildfire occurred and a customer took legal action against a utility?

The intent is not to create some sort of defense or immunity protection for utilities. He wants the state to provide clear direction to utilities to reduce wildfire risk.

There’s concern, nonetheless, that utilities might be able to use a state safety certification to limit their liability. There’s also concern that the state might not have adequate capacity to enforce and evaluate certifications.

Utilities already are taking actions to implement wildfire mitigation plans. For instance, PacifiCorp’s spending through 2028 on wildfire mitigation will be more than $1 billion, according to the Oregon Public Utility Commission. That translates into a cost per customer of $1,777.

The threat of utilities causing wildfires is very much on the minds of utility employees.

“What keeps me up at night is the thought that CEC’s infrastructure will somehow be part or the cause or origin of a catastrophic wildfire,” Brad Wilson, the president and CEO of Central Electric Cooperative, told legislators this week.

House Bill 3666 isn’t a complete solution and the concept may need adjustments. It should help.