PG&E agrees to pay public entities $43M over 2 wildfires

Less than eight months after initiating litigation, a group of Northern California public entities reached a civil settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric over damage suffered during the Kincade fire in 2019 and the Zogg fire in 2020.

The utility agreed to pay a total of $43.36 million to 10 entities, including the counties of Sonoma, Shasta and Tehama.

"We appreciate PG&E was able to resolve the case as quickly as possible," said John Fiske, a shareholder with the law firm Baron & Budd, P.C. who helped represent the plaintiffs. "If you don't get money quickly, then it can be hard on the community and make it more difficult to rebuild and recover."

He said county and local officials will be able to decide how the funds are spent, but most likely they will go toward restoring conservation lands and ecological reserves lost during the fires and toward rebuilding roads damaged by heavy trucks used to put out the fire and then clear the area.

Sonoma County, the town of Windsor and the cities of Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, and Healdsburg filed a lawsuit against PG&E in November for damages from the Kincade fire. They settled their claims for a collective $31 million.

Shasta and Tehama counties filed a lawsuit in December over the Zogg fire and will now receive a collective $12.36 million.

"We are pleased to have reached these resolutions, so that we can help our hometowns as they recover," PG&E chief executive officer Patti Poppe said in a statement. "Local cities and counties are critical to the fabric of our lives, and today's resolution reflects our commitment to supporting them and all they are doing to rebuild after these two fires. We look forward to continuing to partner with these local entities as we work to strengthen our energy systems and deliver for our customers and communities."

The Kincade fire started Oct. 23, 2019, in Sonoma County and burned approximately 78,00 acres, destroying 374 structures and forcing nearly 200,000 residents to evacuate. In July 2020, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced that its investigation determined that PG&E equipment was the cause of the Kincade fire, according to a Baron & Budd news release.

The Zogg fire started Sept. 27, 2020, and burned approximately 56,000 acres, destroyed or damaged approximately 230 buildings, and killed four people, according to a law firm news release. In March, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced its investigation determined that PG&E equipment was the cause of the fire, Baron & Budd stated.

The public entities were represented by their respective county counsel and city attorneys, along with Fiske and Torri Sherlin of Baron & Budd, and Ed Diab of Dixon Diab & Chambers.

Fiske said it was the quickest resolution he's experienced in the representation of more than 50 public entities.

"The timing of it meant we could get a fair and reasonable result for significant funds, fairly quickly," he said.

PG&E officials said it is continuing to evolve and improve all of its wildfire safety efforts to make its system more resilient for its customers and communities.