Pacific Gas set to face jury over deadly pipeline blast

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010, file photo, a massive fire following a pipeline explosion roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of misleading investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Opening arguments in the trial began Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2010, file photo, a natural gas line lies broken on a San Bruno, Calif., road after a massive explosion. One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of misleading investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Opening arguments in the trial began Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File) (The Associated Press)

One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of obstructing investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. During the investigation that followed, prosecutors say the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about the standard it was using to identify high risk pipelines. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to start Thursday.

PG&E has pleaded not guilty to obstruction and other charges in the case.