Update: PG&E agrees to $50 million settlement as 2020 Zogg Fire criminal case is dismissed

A Northern California judge on Wednesday dismissed manslaughter and other criminal charges brought against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in connection with the Zogg Fire, a deadly and destructive 2020 wildfire in Shasta County, as prosecutors and the utility company announced a $50 million settlement agreement.

The Zogg Fire ignited in September 2020 near Redding and killed four people, including an 8-year-old girl and her mother. The blaze went on to burn more than 56,000 acres (88 square miles) and destroyed more than 200 structures in Shasta and Tehama counties.

Utility company PG&E most recently faced 11 charges, including seven felony counts: four of involuntary manslaughter and three of recklessly starting a fire.

Cal Fire investigators blamed the start of the fire on a tree making contact with a PG&E power line. State regulators following their own investigation levied a $150 million fine against the utility company, which was finalized earlier this month.

Shasta Superior Court Judge Daniel E. Flynn during a Wednesday morning hearing ruled to dismiss all charges.

PG&E and Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett announced separately Wednesday morning that the company agreed to a $50 million civil settlement.

PG&E in a news release said that in the agreement, which is subject to court approval, the company commits “to continue several initiatives to further reduce the risk of wildfires, and to fund $45 million in contributions to numerous organizations dedicated to rebuilding and assisting Shasta County communities.”

The organizations set to receive the $45 million include local fire departments, law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations, PG&E said.

The utility company will also pay a $5 million civil penalty to the county.

“The agreement reflects our continuing commitment to making it right and making it safe,” Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E Corp., said in a prepared statement.

Flynn in his tentative ruling ahead of the hearing wrote that prosecutors did not put forth sufficient evidence to show PG&E engaged in criminal conduct.

Prosecutors “failed to establish that any of the various inspections failed to abide by the standard,” the tentative ruling read, in part.

“The people’s argument here relies almost exclusively on facts learned about the tree after the fact and the fire resulting from the power lines being dropped due to the fall of the tree.”

The judge also wrote that the “tree was not a known risk prior to the Zogg fire, and there is no evidence to support the People’s claim in their opposition that it was.”

Bridgett’s office in 2021 filed 31 total charges, and PG&E Corp. in June 2022 pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Twenty of the 31 charges were dismissed this February by Shasta Superior Court Judge Bradley Boeckman; those 20 were related to other Shasta County fires and allegations of air contamination.

Boeckman at the time ordered PG&E to stand trial in the case.

The California Public Utilities Commission in late 2022 proposed a $155 million fine against PG&E for its role in the Zogg Fire. The commission and PG&E on May 18 formalized a $150 million settlement.

California Public Utilities Commission investigators found that the “tree that caused the fire was not removed in time because of PG&E’s poor recordkeeping,” the commission wrote in a news release announcing the settlement.