CALIFORNIA, USA — Pacific Gas & Electric is facing another lawsuit in the 2021 Dixie Fire that burned several California counties.
The owners of Collins Almanor Forest, located in Tehama and Plumas counties near Lake Almanor, filed a $225 million negligence lawsuit Wednesday against PG&E for fire-related injuries and damages. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, says the owners are seeking damages for property losses and environmental damages.
The Dixie Fire spread across five counties: Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Lassen and Tehama. Over three months, it became the largest single wildfire in California's history, burning more than 963,000 acres.
The lawsuit cites a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection investigation concluding a high-risk decayed fir tree fell onto PG&E electrical lines in the morning, causing an electrical fault. PG&E didn't cut power until the evening. PG&E's delay was characterized as “a direct and negligent factor in the ignition of the fire.”
“The day before the fire, these trees were part of a thriving, sustainably-managed commercial forest; the day after the fire, those trees were virtually worthless – amounting to only what could be salvaged of the burned logs,” Edward Duckers, partner at Stoel Rives and counsel for the plaintiffs said in a statement. “Further, the unique environmental value of this forest is permanently lost and can never be replaced, all due to PG&E’s negligence.”
In January 2024, Pacific Gas & Electric was fined $45 million in connection with the 2021 Dixie Fire. It came from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in a settlement agreement with PG&E.
PG&E told ABC10 it has not been served yet.
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