SAUSALITO — Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, trapping people in floodwaters, washing away a mountain highway, triggering a mudslide that destroyed homes and forcing residents to flee communities scorched by wildfires last year. At least two people died as the powerful system swept in from the Pacific...
FEMA Head Brock Long, Investigated Over Vehicle Use, Resigns
WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency resigned Wednesday after a two-year tenure in which he managed the response to historic wildfires and major hurricanes but was dogged by questions over his use of government vehicles. Brock Long said in a letter to FEMA employees that he...
Sen. Bill Dodd Proposes California Wildfire Warning Center
After four consecutive years of catastrophic wildfires, Napa Democratic Sen. Bill Dodd wants to establish a California wildfire warning center that would allow officials to turn off power and better position firefighting crews during extreme heat and high winds. “It would give us more tools in trying to make sure...
Storms Boost Sierra Snowpack to 98% of Seasonal Average
PHILLIPS STATION — California officials say January storms have pushed the Sierra Nevada snowpack to 98 percent of average to date, which is good news for state water supplies. The California Department of Water Resources said Thursday that the snowpack is already at 71 percent of average for the state's...
California Wants Faster Way to Cut Wildfire Risk
SACRAMENTO — California wildland managers said Tuesday that they want to speed up logging and prescribed burns designed to slow wildfires that have devastated communities in recent years. After the deadliest and most destructive blazes in state history, officials are scrapping 12 years of efforts and starting anew on creating...
PG&E Files for Bankruptcy Amid Wildfire Lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., the nation's biggest utility, filed for bankruptcy reorganization Tuesday in a bid to relieve itself of some of the billions of dollars in damages it could face as a result of California's devastating wildfires. The Chapter 11 filing allows PG&E to continue...
PG&E: Judge’s Proposals for Fire Risk Could Cost up to $150B
SAN FRANCISCO — Proposals by a U.S. judge to prevent Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment from causing more wildfires would endanger lives, could cost as much as $150 billion and would interfere with the work of federal and state regulators, the utility said Wednesday in a court filing urging...
Will PG&E Customers Pay More in Bankruptcy? Not if Watchdog Can Stop It
The consumer watchdog arm of the California Public Utilities Commission says millions of Pacific Gas & Electric customers should not have to bear the brunt of the utility’s misdeeds if it was responsible for two of the most destructive wildfires in California. “We should definitely not assume that because PG&E...
Newsom Vows Energy Will Flow Despite PG&E Bankruptcy
SAN FRANCISCO — The nation's largest utility said Monday it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because it faces at least $30 billion in potential damages from lawsuits over the catastrophic wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018 that killed scores of people and destroyed thousands of homes. The move...
PG&E, Facing Colossal Liability, Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Pacific Gas and Electric said it plans to file for bankruptcy protection amid potentially massive liabilities resulting from the deadly California wildfires. The announcement Monday follows the resignation of the power company's chief executive Geisha Williams a day earlier. John Simon, the company' general counsel since 2017, will serve as...