Authorities say the death of an oxygen-dependent man just about 12 minutes after Pacific Gas and Electric Company shut down power to the area where he lived was not related to the loss of electricity in his home.
Even though 67-year-old Robert Mardis had a clinical history of COPD, which is an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department says an autopsy completed Friday afternoon determined that he died of severe coronary artery atherosclerosis.
El Dorado County Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan said early on that emergency personnel couldn't revive Mardis after arriving at his family's home. Ogan also said that the oxygen equipment Mardis used did require electricity to function.
The sheriff's department considers investigation into the death concluded and says the case is closed.
PG&E started turning off electricity just after midnight on Wednesday because of weather forecasts calling for strong, dry winds throughout 35 counties in the northern half of the state.