PG&E Charged With Manslaughter Over Zogg Fire in California

(Bloomberg) -- PG&E Corp., the California utility that went bankrupt after its equipment sparked deadly wildfires, has been charged with multiple crimes, including manslaughter, in connection with a 2020 blaze that killed four people.

Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett on Friday said 31 charges were filed against the utility related to the Zogg Fire in northern California, about 100 miles from the Oregon border. Eleven of the charges were felonies, including four for manslaughter, she said. The blaze burned more than 56,000 acres (23,000 hectares) and destroyed 204 buildings.

“PG&E has a history of repeatably causing wildfires that is not getting better -- it’s getting worse,” Bridgett said during a press briefing broadcast online. “Those who lost loved ones need justice. They need to have those who are responsible for killing their loved ones to be held criminally responsible, especially since this fire was completely preventable.”

The charges are the latest blow for the utility, which emerged from bankruptcy last year after its equipment was blamed for starting some of the worst blazes in California history. Among them was the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people. PG&E remains on criminal probation tied to a deadly natural-gas explosion in 2010.

PG&E didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bridgett also said Shasta County and four others have opened a joint investigation to determine PG&E’s possible criminal liability for starting the Dixie Fire, which began in July and has grown to become the second-largest wildfire in California history.

“It’s time that they change,” Bridgett said of PG&E, “and change does not come by doing nothing. We can not afford to do nothing.” 

PG&E shares fell as much as 1.6% after the charges were announced.

Evidence suggests the Zogg Fire was caused by a tree falling on the utility’s equipment, according to the judge overseeing PG&E’s criminal probation and federal prosecutors. The company estimates total liability from the blaze at $375 million, according to a government filing in July. That figure that could increase substantially with the costs of defending another criminal case.

(Updates with comment from district attorney, share decline.)

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