Pacific Gas & Electric power lines sparked last summer’s Dixie Fire in Northern California that swept through five counties and burned more than 1,300 homes and other buildings, state fire officials said Tuesday.

The blaze was caused by a tree hitting electrical distribution lines west of a dam in the Sierra Nevada, where the blaze began on July 13, according to investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Cal Fire said its investigative report was sent to the Butte County district attorney’s office, which will determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

The finding was no surprise. PG&E already had indicated its equipment may have been involved in the Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 1 million acres in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties.

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