Announcements

Pacific Gas & Electric is responding to new charges tied to the pipeline disaster in San Bruno that occurred four years ago.

On Tuesday a federal grand jury indicted PG&E on 28 counts stemming from the explosion and fire that killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes.

PG&E is accused of lying and obstructing the investigation in connection with the deadly pipeline explosion that leveled the suburban San Bruno neighborhood in 2010.

In particular, PG&E officials are accused of telling National Transportation Safety Board investigators that the safety procedures being followed were correct and approved.

PG&E released the following statement in response to the new charges, “Even where mistakes were made, employees were acting in good faith to provide customers with safe and reliable energy.”

The indictment replaces a previous indictment that contained 12 counts, but not obstruction.

PG&E faces hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if found guilty. PG&E said in May that it has committed $2.7 billion over the next several years for safety-related work following the incident.

Fire crews east of Sacramento are battling a wildfire that broke out around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The fire is burning several miles south of Interstate 80, about halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe in the area of Foresthill in Placer County.

At this point, it’s unclear how big the fire is, or if it’s threatening any structures.

Additional details have not been released.

Mountain View Police say authorities have located a 27-year-old Wisconsin woman missing since early Sunday morning.

Blair Foley had last been seen leaving a Lucky's Supermarket at 715 E. El Camino Real around 2 a.m. on Sunday, police spokesman Sgt. Saul Jaeger said.

She was in the Bay Area for work and was scheduled to return to Wisconsin this Friday, Jaeger said.

Foley was located by the BART Police Department overnight at the Lake Merritt BART station. Police say she was taken to Highland Hospital for observation. She did not appear to be harmed or a victim of a crime.

At this point, additional details have not been released.

A 41-year-old inmate who escaped from Sonoma County Jail on Monday morning remains at large, a Sonoma County Sheriff's sergeant said.

Zephyr Malik Carter was part of a work crew participating in an agricultural program when he ran from North County Detention Facility around 8:30 a.m. Monday, sheriff's Sgt. Cecile Focha said.

Carter was outside the secure perimeter and deputies have not determined if the escape was planned or spontaneous, Focha said.

He was last seen wearing denim pants and a jacket with the letters "MADF" across the back, Focha said.

Carter has ties to Oakland and his last known address was in Hayward, according to Focha.

He goes by multiple aliases including "Christian Carter," "Freddie Zephyr Smith," "Marcus Smith," and "Malik." Carter is described as a black man standing about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing around 200 pounds with a dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair. He has tattoos of a dragon on his right bicep and an angel on his left forearm.

Carter was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on theft and credit card fraud charges. He was involved in a major fraud ring that included stolen identities, vehicles, drugs and cash at Graton Resort & Casino in April, according to Focha.

Anyone with information on Focha's whereabouts is asked to call Sonoma County Sheriff's Office's Investigation Bureau tip line at 707-565-2185.

Firefighters responded to a 2-alarm fire located at 47th and Melrose streets early Wednesday morning, Oakland fire dispatch said.

Two homes were affected by the fire, which was called in around 3:40 a.m.

The fire damaging the first home was controlled at 4:42 a.m., while the second fire was controlled at 5:57 a.m.

PG&E shut off power to four or five homes in the area because there was a down power line.

“We had a power line that was down that was a charged power line so the sparks were coming off the power line so that made fighting the fire extremely difficult. We had to make sure we isolated the power line and made sure none of the firefighters got near the down power line,” said Battalion Chief Lisa Baker.

Fire officials say the fire began in the upper unit of one of the buildings. Residents only had minutes to react to get out of the homes. No one was injured.

As many as 18 people were displaced due to the fire.

Fire investigators remain at the scene, searching for a cause.