SONOMA — A county in Northern California wine country is exploring plans to sue a utility over a massive wildfire last fall that caused losses of $725 million when combined with rolling power shutoffs. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to hire two law firms to pursue legal...
Regulators to Open Inquiry Into PG&E Outages
SAN FRANCISCO — California regulators will vote Wednesday on whether to open an investigation into pre-emptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state for much of October as strong winds sparked fears of wildfires. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. initiated multiple rounds of shut-offs and plunged nearly...
Rebirth, Angst and the 'New Normal' of California Wildfires
SANTA ROSA — Tina Chandler walks outside her home and sniffs the air. "Do you smell smoke?" she asks. Even when the scent is no longer there, it haunts her. So does the fear of the monstrous winds of autumn, the kind that stoked the wildfires that destroyed her northern...
Not out of Woods yet, but Winds Driving California Fires Die
LOS ANGELES — Calmer weather allowed crews to increase containment on wildfires after a three-week siege of gusts fanned blazes across California and led utilities to cut power to prevent winds from blowing branches into electric lines and igniting an inferno. Winds subsided in virtually all parts of the state,...
Wildfire Erupts Near Reagan Library in Southern California
SIMI VALLEY — A new wildfire erupted Wednesday in wind-whipped Southern California, forcing the evacuation of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and nearby homes, as both ends of the state struggled with blazes, dangerously gusty weather and deliberate blackouts. The brush fire broke out just before dawn in the Simi...
Crews Battles California Blazes Before Windstorms Return
LOS ANGELES — Crews fought Tuesday to drown, slash and smother wildfires that have incinerated dozens of homes in Northern and Southern California before returning windstorms can blow them back into furious life. In California wine country, firefighters worked to reinforce fire lines in western Sonoma County while rushing to...
PG&E Says Power Lines May Have Started 2 More Fires
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. power lines may have started two wildfires over the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, the utility said, even though widespread blackouts were in place to prevent downed lines from starting fires during dangerously windy weather. The fires described in PG&E...
Wildfires Erupt in LA, Grow in Wine Country
SANTA ROSA — Firefighters battled destructive wildfires in Northern California wine country and on the west side of Los Angeles on Monday, trying to beat back flames that forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. Pacific Gas & Electric, cut off power to an estimated 2.5 million people in...
Bigger, Longer Blackouts Could Lie Ahead Across California
SAN FRANCISCO — A wildfire in California wine country that may have been caused by a high-voltage transmission line called into question Pacific Gas & Electric's strategy of selectively cutting off power in windy weather to prevent blazes, and could force it to resort to even bigger blackouts affecting millions...
PG&E Admits It May Have Ignited Sonoma Fire
LOS ANGELES — Pacific Gas & Electric admitted its electrical equipment may have ignited a ruinous wildfire spreading across the California wine country, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent blazes. The disclosure came as firefighters simultaneously battled flames in both Northern and Southern California: the fire amid Sonoma...