Global Courant
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will pay $50 million in a legal settlement with Shasta County for its role in causing the 2020 Zogg fire, which tore through several rural communities in Northern California, killing four people and burning more than 26,000 acres.
As part of the plea agreement, which awaits final court approval, criminal charges against PG&E filed by the Shasta County District Attorney in 2021 will be dropped.
The charges, including manslaughter and arson, were presented to Judge Bradley Boeckman at a preliminary hearing in February 2023, where he ruled that most of the charges should be tried. However, a motion filed by PG&E’s legal team caused the charges to be reviewed by another judge, who issued a preliminary ruling overturning Boeckman’s decision.
Despite that preliminary ruling, Shasta County Dist. Attention. Stephanie A. Bridgett spent weeks negotiating with PG&E and secured the $50 million settlement.
In an interview on Wednesday, Bridgett said it was “frustrating and disappointing” that PG&E would not be held criminally liable, but she was pleased that the settlement had given her extra money for Shasta County.
“I didn’t want to take any chances or gamble with the safety of the community,” Bridgett said. “I wanted to secure things that would be useful.”
The settlement includes $45 million earmarked for improving fire safety and emergency preparedness, including firefighter training, a large animal evacuation center, the hiring of new arson investigators and the removal of vegetation to reduce wildfire risk through the Shasta County Fire Prevention Council. The money will also pay for permanent memorials to the four people who died in the Zogg fire.
The remaining $5 million of the settlement covers a civil penalty for Shasta County. PG&E is unable to increase client rates to cover settlement costs under the determined judgment.
The Zogg fire started on September 27, 2020, after a damaged gray pine fell onto a PG&E electrical line along Zogg Mine Road. The fire burned 56,388 acres in southwestern Shasta County and northwestern Tehama County, destroying 204 buildings before being fully contained on October 13, 2020.
Four people died in the fire: Karin King, 79; Alaina McLeod, 45; Felya McLeod, 8; and Kenneth Vossen, 52.
According to the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, in 2018 PG&E marked the pine tree that later fell as dangerous and marked it for removal. One of the problems was a large hollow at the base of the tree and no upward supporting roots, causing it to lean towards the lines before falling.
In January 2019, a PG&E program manager warned the company’s vice president of electrical operations that logs were not being fully inspected for trees that could fall on power lines. Further inspections in 2019 and 2020 failed to remove the tree before it collapsed.
The settlement is the latest reached between PG&E and parties affected by wildfires.
Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E’s parent company, said in a statement that the settlement reflected the company’s commitment to improving fire safety in its service areas.
“I am grateful that the Shasta County District Attorney has agreed to work with us to make her community a safer place,” she said, “and we look forward to the relationship this agreement establishes.”
