- In 2020, a tree fell on top of an energy company’s distribution line, sparking a massive wildfire that led to the deaths of four people and destroyed hundreds of homes in California.
- Shasta and Tehama counties of California sued Pacific Gas & Electric, claiming that the utility company failed to remove the tree.
- A California judge dismissed all charges against PG&E Wednesday due to the lack of evidence proving the utility company engaged in criminal conduct.
A California judge on Wednesday dismissed all charges against Pacific Gas & Electric in connection to a 2020 fatal wildfire sparked by its equipment that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed four people, including an 8-year-old.
The utility also reached a $50 million settlement agreement with the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, officials from both announced in separate statements.
The wind-whipped blaze began on Sept. 27, 2020, and raged through rugged terrain and small communities west of Redding, killing four people, burning about 200 homes and blackening about 87 square miles of land in Shasta and Tehama counties.
CALIFORNIA POWER COMPANY, PG&E, PLANS TO MOVE 10,000 MILES OF POWER LINES UNDERGROUND
In 2021, state fire investigators concluded the fire was sparked by a gray pine tree that fell onto a PG&E distribution line. Shasta and Tehama counties sued the utility, alleging negligence. They said PG&E failed to remove the tree even though it had been marked for removal two years earlier. The utility says the tree was subsequently cleared to stay.
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett determined that the company was criminally liable for the fire and charged the utility later that year.
Shasta Superior Court Judge Daniel E. Flynn disagreed, and in a tentative ruling ahead of a hearing Wednesday said prosecutors did not present enough evidence to show PG&E engaged in criminal conduct, according to the Sacramento Bee, which obtained a copy of the ruling.
The “tree was not a known risk…
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