California fire victims want utility liability law to remain

SANTA ROSA, Calif. _ Victims of California’s deadliest wildfires joined politicians on Wednesday to urge California state lawmakers to stop trying to overhaul liability laws on wildfires.

Gathering in Santa Rosa in front of an empty lot where Brad Sherwood’s home once stood, the group said it’s concerned about a newly formed legislative committee that will consider cutting utilities’ responsibility when their equipment causes fires.

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With just six weeks left in the legislative session, the group is worried lawmakers may move quickly to help the utilities.

Investigators have determined that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment started several of the 2017 wildfires in Northern California wine country that killed a total of 44 people. The company says it expects to pay more than $2.5 billion.

Utilities are now on the hook to pay damages in California if their equipment started the fire, even if they aren’t negligent. PG&E and other utilities say this law is unfair and they want it wiped from the state’s books.

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Geisha Williams, PG&E’s chief executive officer, called the law “bad public policy” and said the way California decides on who should pay fire victims needs a significant overhaul.

She said severe firestorms are the “new normal” amid climate change and as California deals with chronic drought.

Williams said the San Francisco-based utility is fighting for the change in the Legislature and in the courts, warning that PG&E could face bankruptcy if the damages climb too high.

A committee of state lawmakers from both chambers is considering the issue and other ways to help utilities pay for fire damage, including a proposal to let utilities use taxpayer-supported bonds to pay legal damages.

PG&E is leading the lobbying effort in Sacramento.

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Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore said the issues are too complicated to resolve in the six weeks remaining for the Legislature to pass bill.

Northern California residents who lost homes in the 2017 firestorms said the legislative wrangling is frustrating amid their daily fights with insurance companies, contractors and lawyers.

“This is bad timing on PG&E’s part,” Sherwood said. “I should be worrying about carpets and counter tops in my new house instead of what’s going on in Sacramento.”

The news conference in front of Sherwood’s Santa Rosa lot was organized by the California State Association of Counties, which opposes the utilities’ push to reduce their liability.

Association chief Graham Knaus said the liability law is an important tool in helping fire victims recover. Eliminating it would also hinder counties from recovering their own fire damages, Knaus said.

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This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.