PG&E has reached a settlement with ten public entities affected by wildfires found to be caused by the company, including the Zogg Fire.
The settlements will resolve all wildfire civil claims held by the local public entities, and promises to pay out $43 million, according to a press release issued by the Baron & Budd law firm. About $12 million will go to Shasta and Tehama counties to settle claims over the 2020 Zogg Fire.
In March 2021 Cal Fire announced that its investigation determined that PG&E equipment was the cause of the Zogg Fire. John Fiske, an attorney representing Shasta and Tehama counties, said most of the money is going to Shasta County, which was hit hardest by the fire. This settlement only resolves the local government's cases, not personal lawsuits, he said.
"That money is intended only for the county at the county level," Fiske said. "So if a family in the Zogg Fire lost a home or has some other sort of legal claim, those claims are unaffected."
Fiske said it will be up to county supervisors to decide how the settlement money will get spent.
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said in a press release that the company was "pleased to have reached these resolutions so that we can help our hometowns as they recover."
In a statement issued by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors, County Clerk Rubin Cruse Jr. said, "Holding PG&E accountable is increasingly important as utility-caused wildfires continue to ravage the state and region."