$24 million dollar settlement with PG&E announced for Dixie Fire

REDDING. Calif. — 10 public entities announced a collective $24 million settlement with PG&E for public and natural resource damages caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire, which started July 13, 2021 and burned approximately 963,309 acres in Plumas, Lassen, Butte, Shasta, and Tehama Counties.

The 10 settling public entities include:

1. Plumas
2. Lassen
3. Butte
4. Shasta
5. Tehama Counties
6. City of Susanville
7. Plumas District Hospital
8. Chester Public Utility District
9. Honey Lake Valley Recreation Authority
10. Herlong Public Utility District

“The counties and other public entities came together to recover these significant funds to reimburse public and natural resources lost in the fire,” said Rubin E. Cruse, Jr. Shasta County Counsel. “Holding PG&E accountable is increasingly important as utility-caused wildfires continue to ravage the state and region.”

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The public entities’ civil legal damages included public and natural resource damages, staff and labor time, damages to pavement and roads, lost revenue, increased expenses, and other damages caused by the Dixie Fire.

One of the 10 entities included in the settlement, Herlong Public Utility District is one of the smaller groups involved. General Manager, Sandy Raffelson, helped provide water and other resources to CalFire and BLM during the Dixie fire. Raffelson was full of emotion when she recalled the fire and seeing the destruction first hand. “I am an avid horseback rider and so I very much miss the forest that we lost. It's going to take beyond my years, hopefully my grandchildren will get to see the new growth and get to enjoy the forest that I had in years past because it won't be there for the rest of my life.”

PG&E gave KRCR the following statement, "We recognize the impact that the 2021 Dixie Fire had on our communities. This settlement represents the most recent step in our efforts to make things right following the disaster."

For nearly a year, we’ve been working to deliver on our commitment to make it right for those impacted by the Dixie Fire through the Direct Payments for Community Recovery program, which was launched last spring and has paid out more than $43 million to individuals whose homes were lost in the fire." PG&E added. "That program remains open, and we remain committed to helping our hometowns recover and rebuild. Tuesday's settlement also comes in addition to the agreement reached with the five counties impacted by the Dixie Fire, as well as Sonoma County, in April of 2022 that called for more than $55 million of investment in fire safety training, community rebuilding and long-term partnerships around safety and fire prevention. We remain focused on working closely with our local government partners, and other stakeholders, toward our shared and unwavering goal of safety.