(Bloomberg) -- PG&E Corp. sees “no basis for criminal charges” related to the Dixie Fire, a Northern California blaze that spread into five counties and has become the second-largest in state history.  

“Anyone can file criminal charges,” Chief Executive Officer Patti Poppe said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s sort of the easiest thing someone can do, is file criminal charges. That doesn’t mean there is a basis for criminal charges.”

Five California counties disclosed a joint investigation in September to determine PG&E’s possible criminal liability for starting the Dixie Fire, which began in July and has consumed more than 960,000 acres. The company remains on criminal probation tied to a deadly natural-gas explosion in 2010, and last month was charged with 31 criminal counts including involuntary manslaughter for a separate blaze in 2020 in Shasta County that killed four people. The utility also is fighting charges over a 2019 fire in Sonoma County. 

Poppe, who took the helm at PG&E in January, has vowed to improve the utility’s wildfire prevention work and streamline its operations. Still, the company continues to come under scrutiny for its role in starting big wildfires, and its equipment is suspected of sparking the Dixie Fire. 

Read More: PG&E Judge Asks Why Power Wasn’t Cut on Line Linked to Fire 

She said that the state has granted the utility a safety certificate for its wildfire mitigation plan and therefore it’s deemed a prudent operator. 

“I have a hard time understanding how a prudent operator can also be a criminal. I definitely know my co-workers are not,” Poppe said.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.