Oregon forest owners sue PG&E for $228M over Dixie Fire

By Wes Venteicher | 04/12/2024 06:54 AM EDT

The 2021 fire, sparked by Pacific Gas and Electric equipment, burned 55,000 acres of Collins Almanor’s trees, according to the lawsuit.

Jon Cappleman (left) talks to firefighters about fire conditions near his home in the evacuation zone of the Dixie Fire.

Resident Jon Cappleman (left) talks to firefighters about fire conditions near his home in the evacuation zone of the Dixie Fire, in Twain, California, on July 26, 2021. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The owners of a private Oregon forest are suing Pacific Gas and Electric for damages from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which burned 55,000 acres of their trees, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Owners of Collins Almanor Forest are seeking about $228 million in injuries and damages in San Francisco County Superior Court. The Dixie Fire, which the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection determined was sparked by a large Douglas fir that fell on PG&E equipment, was the second-largest in California history, burning nearly a million acres across five Northern California counties.

The suit highlights the continuing costs and risks to PG&E of dealing with wildfires that have become more common and more severe due to climate change. A $13.5 billion settlement agreement over the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 84 people, contributed to PG&E’s bankruptcy the following year; the company agreed to pay $25 billion for wildfire-related losses as part of its plan to exit bankruptcy.

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Cal Fire’s 2022 report on the Dixie Fire said the fire was ignited at 6:48 a.m. on July 13, 2021, but wasn’t discovered until a PG&E worker arrived at 4:55 p.m.

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