PG&E settles Dixie Fire lawsuit with DAs in Shasta County and four others
The Shasta County District Attorney, along with officials in four other North State counties, announced Monday that they have reached a settlement with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. over the utility firm's responsibility for the 2021 Dixie Fire.
The consortium of district attorneys also includes Plumas, Lassen, Tehama and Butte counties.
The civil prosecution settlement requires PG&E to make payments by this summer to people who lost their homes in the wildfire and to continue making extensive improvements in their infrastructure throughout the North State.
The settlement also requires PG&E to pay back $29.5 million by July to local charities and organizations involved in providing assistance after the fire.
The Dixie Fire was sparked on July 13, burned 963,309 acres, destroyed 1,329 structures before being fully contained on Oct. 25.
The second-largest wildfire in California's history, the Dixie Fire also forced thousands in Shasta, Tehama, Lassen, Plumas and Butte counties to evacuate their homes and leveled the historic Gold Rush-era town of Greenville.
And the judgment mandates oversight by the district attorneys though the creation of an independent five-year safety monitor, which will give assurances to the public that PG&E will live up to its promises, the officials said.
PG&E must also pay penalties and costs of the investigation to the DA's Offices, which cannot be recoverable through imposing customer rates.
“I fully support this joint settlement of the Dixie Fire damages," Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie A. Bridgett said.
Patti Poppe, Chief Executive Officer of PG&E Corp., said in a statement that the company is "committed to doing our part."
Poppe added: “We respect the leadership of the local DAs, welcome the new level of transparency and accountability afforded by these agreements and look forward to working together for the benefit of the communities we collectively serve.”
Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister said in a statement that PG&E "has demonstrated they are committed to change and will continue to work towards earning our trust."
The consortium of district attorneys filed a civil rather than criminal complaint in Plumas County Superior Court accusing PG&E of unlawful business practices. After negotiations with PG&E, a stipulated Final Judgment was filed on Monday that resolved the case.
The DAs noted the civil judgment allowed more flexibility in demanding changes in PG&E’s safety practice and in obtaining rapid restitution to those who lost homes and property in the Dixie Fire, while putting the company on essentially a five-year probation.
The DAs stated it was decided to pursue the Dixie Fire as a civil prosecution rather than a criminal prosecution to maximize the return to the fire victims rather than to seek criminal penalties. The DAs noted that the maximum criminal fines possible in the Dixie Fire, which caused extensive property damage but no deaths, was only $329,417.
The North State DAs said the settlement was part of a larger settlement involving the Sonoma County District Attorney’s settlement of the 2019 Kincade Fire, which also occurred Monday in Sonoma County Superior Court.
The settlement calls for each North State District Attorney Office to receive $1 million. The Butte County District Attorney will receive $250,000 for investigative costs.
Shasta County’s criminal case against PG&E for their actions causing the Zogg Fire remains pending, according to Bridgett.
Record Searchlight reporter Damon Arthur contributed to this report.
Michele Chandler covers city government and housing issues for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @MChandler_RS, call her at 530-225-8344 or email her at michele.chandler@redding.com. Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: PG&E settles California wildfire suit with Shasta, Plumas, others
