A Cal Fire firefighter monitors a burning home as the Camp Fire moves through the area on November 9, 2018 in Magalia, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

An attorney for a group of victims of the so-called Camp Fire in Northern California on Wednesday alleged that there's "pretty overwhelming" evidence that PG&E was at fault for the deadliest wildfire in the state's history. The blaze, which has burned an estimated 135,000 acres, has been blamed for at least 56 fatalities and the loss of nearly 9,000 structures. Cal Fire has stated that the cause of the fire remains "under investigation." "In this case we know an awful lot," said Oakland attorney Michael Danko, who represents a group of plaintiffs who lost homes and possessions in the town of Paradise and the surrounding area. He said information includes witnesses as well as a PG&E safety incident report made to the California Public Utilities Commission about problems with equipment near where the fire is believed to have started.

The lawsuit against PG&E was filed in San Francisco Superior Court and accuses the utility of negligence in the destructive wildfire. The lawsuit includes about two dozen plaintiffs and seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial. The Camp Fire destroyed much of the town of Paradise as well as portions of nearby Concow and Magalia in Butte County. Authorities say 130 people remain missing. "Rather than spend the money it obtains from customers for infrastructure maintenance and safety, PG&E funnels this funding to boost its own corporate profits and compensation," according to the complaint. PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado said in an email Wednesday that the San Francisco-based utility giant is aware of lawsuits in connection with the fire and added, "It's important to remember that the cause has yet to be determined." The utility warned in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Nov. 9 it could potentially face "significant liability in excess of insurance coverage." PG&E's stock price has fallen nearly 50 percent in value since the Camp Fire broke out on Nov. 8. That includes Wednesday's drop of about 21 percent. "We have the neighbor who got the email concerning the sparking wires," Danko said. "We have the witnesses who saw the fire start on a transmission line. And most importantly, we have the report that PG&E was required to make by law to the CPUC, reporting an outage minutes before the witnesses saw the fire start under the transmission lines. So the evidence already is pretty overwhelming." An electric safety incident report filed Nov. 8 by PG&E indicated that the utility's transmission line "experienced an outage" that morning. Then in the afternoon PG&E "observed by aerial patrol damage to a transmission tower" located about "one mile north-east of the town of Pulga, in the area of the Camp Fire."