California's PG&E reports outage in area at time Camp wildfire erupted

(Reuters) - California utility PG&E Corp reported on Monday that it experienced an outage on a transmission line in the area of the raging Camp Fire early in the morning of last Thursday shortly before the fire stated.

In a regulatory filing, PG&E said it "observed by aerial patrol damage to a transmission tower" one mile (1.6 km) northeast of the town of Pulga, which is about 27 miles (43 km)from the town of Paradise, which was devastated by the wildfire.

Shares of PG&E Corp , which operates in the northern part of California, dropped 16 percent on Monday, bringing its loss over two sessions to 29 percent, equivalent to $8 billion.

Emergency teams searched on Monday for more than 200 people listed as missing in the deadliest northern California wildfire on record as officials voiced concerns the casualty toll will climb higher and crews battled for a fifth day to suppress the flames.

(Reporting by Bill Tarrant; Editing by Sandra Maler)