California wildfires: At least 84 are killed in deadliest blaze

schumi

schumi

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Gordon_R

Gordon_R

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PG&E slowly coughing up huge payouts, while still undergoing bankruptcy procedures: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48685967
Pacific Gas & Electric Corp (PG&E) has agreed to pay $1bn (£800m) to local California authorities for wildfire damage blamed on the firm.

The settlements will be paid out to 14 different bodies as part of the utility company's bankruptcy reorganisation.

The claims stem from the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire.

The city of Paradise, which was all but destroyed in a wildfire in November, receives $270m.

The Camp Fire, which started in Butte County, claimed 85 lives - the deadliest in state history.

Californian fire investigators said in May that the blaze was sparked by transmission lines owned by PG&E.
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The San Francisco-based utility company filed for bankruptcy in January 2019, citing billions of dollars in liabilities from lawsuits it is facing.

The settlements announced on Tuesday do not include hundreds of individual claims made by businesses and homeowners.

Because of its bankruptcy reorganisation, any financial agreements PG&E reaches still need to be approved in court.

"What we hope is that PG&E can come out of bankruptcy as soon as possible so these funds can be paid," John Fiske, a lawyer from a firm representing the agencies told Bloomberg.

PG&E told the Reuters news agency in a statement that the settlement marked an "important first step" for "orderly, fair and expeditious resolution" of wildfire claims against it.
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Gordon_R

Gordon_R

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flippakitten said:
I didn't really have time to read the whole article but does it say why PG&E are liable?
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It was actually one of the dumbest mistakes ever, though not unique. The powerlines hang quite close together, and were only certified for winds of 60-70km/h. On the day of the fire there were extremely hot dry winds up to 80km/h, and they should have shut down the electricity supply to the powerlines. For whatever they didn't, and the lines arced and set fire to undergrowth. Ironically the evidence was published on their own CCTV video...

Edit: In depth article. Link may be firewalled: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/18/business/pge-california-wildfires.html
How PG&E Ignored Fire Risks in Favor of Profits
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On the morning of Nov. 8, a live wire broke free of its grip. A power failure occurred on the line, affecting a single customer. But 15 minutes later, a fire was observed nearby. Within hours, flames engulfed the region, ultimately killing 85 and destroying the town of Paradise.

The equipment belonged to the state’s biggest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric. To the company’s critics, the tower and its vulnerability reflect a broken safety culture.

Five of the 10 most destructive fires in California since 2015 have been linked to PG&E’s electrical network. Regulators have found that in many fires, PG&E violated state law or could have done more to make its equipment safer.

Long before the failure suspected in the Paradise fire, a company email had noted that some of PG&E’s structures in the area, known for fierce winds, were at risk of collapse. It reported corrosion of one tower so severe that it endangered crews trying to repair the tower.
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Last edited:
Emjay

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Gordon_R said:
It was actually one of the dumbest mistakes ever, though not unique. The powerlines hang quite close together, and were only certified for winds of 60-70km/h. On the day of the fire there were extremely hot dry winds up to 80km/h, and they should have shut down the electricity supply to the powerlines. For whatever they didn't, and the lines arced and set fire to undergrowth. Ironically the evidence was published on their own CCTV video...

Edit: In depth article. Link may be firewalled: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/18/business/pge-california-wildfires.html
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In any big company, these types of mistakes will happen as monitoring or proper risk management processes were not maintained. Those lines should have never been installed in such a manner to begin with. Very expensive school fees have been paid here.
 
Gordon_R

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This year they are preemptively shutting down power to consumers to avoid the risk of fires: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49982236
A power company is cutting electricity to around 800,000 homes, businesses and other locations in Northern California, in an attempt to prevent wildfires.

Large swathes of the San Francisco Bay Area - though not the city itself - have lost power, angering residents.

The region’s utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), has warned the shutdown could last several days.

The company's transmission lines started the deadliest wildfire in California’s history last year.

With weather forecasts predicting high winds, the move is intended to prevent the risk of fallen power lines igniting more wildfires.

"The conditions are ripe: dry fuel, high winds, warm event. Any spark can create a significant event," said Ray Riordan, director of the Office of Emergency Management in San Jose, during a press conference on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the Santa Cruz Mountains, North and East Bay regions until Thursday, warning that conditions could result in "the strongest offshore wind event in the area since the October 2017 North Bay fires".
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