Merry Christmas SDG&E, now about all those fires that ravaged San Diego County.

The Center for Biological Diversity and The Sierra Club have asked state regulators to open a formal and public investigation into the role of San Diego Gas & Electric and other utilities in the wildfires that swept Southern California in October of 2007.

It was widely reported that power lines were the cause of the wildfires that left San Diego County devastated with more than 1.6 billion in damage claims. Cal Fire determined that at least that at least three of the fires were caused by power lines.

From Biological Diversity:

The conservation groups’ request for an investigation is in response to a petition by the gas company to the utilities commission on November 6, 2007 that requested a review of construction, maintenance, and operational standards for power lines and related facilities in light of the fires. Among other things, the groups asked whether utilities examined their own practices after the tragic fires in 2003 and whether they were implementing the best practices to reduce fire risk prior to the October 2007 fires.

There have been several lawsuits filed against SDG&E in regards to the fires.