wildfires News

PG&E Probing Whether Cables at Risk of Failing and Causing Fires

PG&E Corp. is trying to determine whether other jumper cables along its system may be susceptible to failure after one broke in October, minutes before the massive Kincade wildfire ignited in Northern California wine country. PG&E said it was looking …

California Faces Decade of ‘Unique’ Wildfire Blackouts

California utility PG&E Corp has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages would happen only a couple of times a …

PG&E Cutting Power to 150,000 Customers in New Mass Blackout

PG&E Corp. is moving forward on cutting power to about 150,000 customers starting early Wednesday in the latest mass blackout designed to keep its power lines from igniting wildfires. The bankrupt utility is shutting off service to homes and businesses …

PG&E Is Dubious of Fire Victim’s Claim for a 500-Pound Emerald

PG&E Corp. says it has found suspicious monetary claims by victims of California’s wildfires, including one from a man who says a 500-pound (227-kilogram) emerald worth $280 million was destroyed at his home a year ago in the most destructive …

Wildfires Force Businesses to Prepare for Disruption

NEW YORK — The wildfires that are rampant this time of year in California force small business owners to be prepared in the same way as owners in other parts of the country who deal with tornadoes and other natural …

California Governor Newsom Is Fielding More PG&E Takeover Calls

For California Governor Gavin Newsom, sitting back and watching PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy run its course is no longer an option. The mayors of 22 cities are pressing him to turn the embattled power giant into a customer-owned cooperative. San Francisco, …

PG&E Faces Strict Probation Judge After Massive Kincade Fire

For the first time since a fire last month scorched 77,758 acres of northern California, PG&E Corp. returns to the courtroom of the judge whose personal crusade is to “reduce to zero” the number of wildfires caused by the utility’s …

PG&E Sees Up to $6.3 Billion in Costs From Fires, Bankruptcy

PG&E Corp., the California, that went bankrupt in January after its equipment sparked deadly wildfires, expects as much as $6.3 billion in after-tax costs from the blazes, its Chapter 11 case and the recent blackouts. The troubled power giant reported …

Wildfire Forecasters Race to Stay Ahead of Unpredictable Flames

Predicting what a wildfire will do is no simple matter. When the Getty wildfire erupted in California a week ago, forcing 20,000 people to evacuate, Richard Thompson raced to the scene. His job wasn’t to fight a fire that spread …

There’s No Easy Way to End California’s Bedeviling Blackouts

California residents who were incredulous after the head of PG&E Corp. signaled a decade more of blackouts face an unnerving prospect: he may just be right. Four mass power shutoffs in a month have disrupted life in California, forcing schools …