Catherine Sandoval spoke with CBS news about how the a tree leaning against a power line caused the deadly 2020 Zogg fire. PG&E had slated the tree for removal, but never followed up to cut the tree down. PG&E’s lawyers said the the company’s database of tree threats did not “talk to” a separate similar database maintained by PG&E’s third-party contractor.

“Someone designed the system that allowed that to happen,” said Catherine Sandoval, a former state power regulator who teaches utility law at Santa Clara University.