PG&E faced dozens of criminal charges, including multiple felony counts, and the possibility of further legal jeopardy for starting two catastrophic wildfires, including the second-largest in California history. Instead, it was afforded an opportunity available to few other recidivist criminals accused of such serious violations of the law: paying its way out of prosecution.
The district attorneys of six Northern California counties announced Monday that a settlement with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. would allow it to avoid acknowledging any wrongdoing in the Kincade and Dixie fires, which together destroyed or damaged nearly 2,000 homes and other structures, burned over a million acres, and led to the death of one firefighter and injured several others. In exchange for this invaluable gift to what remains of its corporate credibility, the utility will pay a relatively paltry sum.
The Dixie Fire started in the Feather River Canyon in Plumas County last summer when a tree fell into PG&E power lines that the company failed to shut off for nearly 10 hours. It burned nearly a million acres across five counties, destroyed the historic town of Greenville and became the first wildfire on record to summit the Sierra Nevada. Prosecutors in Plumas, Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Lassen counties all opened criminal inquiries into the fire that were closed by the settlement.
