Wyoming shields utility companies from wildfire-liability payouts

Smoke billows from a wildfire in Yellowstone national park in Wyoming in 2006. Photograph: Avalon/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Wyoming’s governor has signed a bill that limits the liability for electric utility companies found guilty of starting wildfires.

Legislators argued that the bill was necessary for utility companies to function in an era of massive fire-related class-action lawsuits, especially for many of the smaller, co-op utilities that are a hallmark of the mountain west.