Geothermal plant sustains minor fire damage

A spokesman for the Calpine geothermal facility, The Geysers in Lake County near the Sonoma County border, said Thursday that the Kincade Fire caused relatively minor damage and the fire threat to the facility has passed.

Calpine spokesman Brett Kerr said in an email:

“Some of our operations have been temporarily suspended but we expect production will resume very soon.” 

Kerr said:

“Consistent with our fire prevention protocols, due to the wind conditions we had de-energized our local power line system before the fire started. We do not believe our facilities caused the fire. There are power lines operated by third parties across The Geysers.” 

PG&E officials said power in the area of the Kincade Fire had been shut down prior to 5 p.m. Wednesday as part of its Public Safety Power Shutdown.

PG&E said in a statement:

“The Kincade Fire is near the PSPS footprint, and we are working to gather additional information.”