Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires started by its aging equipment in 2019 and 2021, prosecutors announced.
The Dixie Fire burned nearly 1 million acres in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties and destroyed more than 1,300 homes and other buildings.
Fire officials said a PG&E transmission line sparked the fire, which destroyed 374 buildings in wine country and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee as it burned through 120 square miles .
The utility’s federal probation ended in late January, raising worries from the judge who had been using his powers to oversee the utility to try to force management to reduce the fire risks posed by its crumbling power lines.