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Crosscurrents

What California's new wildfire plan means for PG&E, ratepayers, and fire victims

Mendocino County, California

Before lawmakers left on vacation last week, Governor Gavin Newsom introducedand signed into law a new plan for California wildfires. The law creates a fund to pay for damages from wildfires — specifically, ones caused by utilities.

Last year’s devastating Camp Fire was the most expensive natural disaster of 2018, totaling $16.5 billion in damages. And as we now know from a CalFire investigation, the blaze was caused by a damaged PG&E electrical tower

Companies could dip into the fund to pay victims of future wildfires. If they are found to have acted recklessly, like they failed to maintain a power line, they’ll have to reimburse the fund.

Click the audio player above to listen to the full story.

Crosscurrents
Angela Johnston is the Senior Producer of Uncuffed and an editor in the KALW newsroom. She holds a Master’s degree in journalism and graduated from KALW’s Audio Academy program. She’s worked for KALW in numerous roles - from the deputy news director, to the health and environment reporter, and she's covered everything from lead poisoning to climate change. Her work has aired on KALW, KQED, Reveal, and The Pulse. She also freelances as a producer and editor for Cosmic Standard and AFAR Media. Outside of work, she loves to swim in the bay, surf small waves on her longboard, read, backpack, cook, and garden.