PG&E Will Pay $22 Million for Mosquito Fire, Biggest Blaze of 2022
PG&E will pay $22 million to settle claims over the 2022 Mosquito Fire that burned over 75,000 acres and destroyed 78 structures in Placer County.
The fire broke out at the peak of a record-breaking heat wave and was the largest fire of the year, burning for 47 days. Placer County Executive Officer Daniel Chatigny told KQED that, four years later, their community is “still recovering.”
Using grants from the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Placer Resource Conservation District has been restoring the forest.
Liana Matson Vitousek, a spokesperson for the district, noted in a statement that so far this work has involved removing hazardous fuel from 875 acres and planting 45,000 seedlings within the Mosquito Fire footprint.
“Between the ongoing restoration work, remaining standing dead trees and an already active fire season, the Mosquito Fire remains a presence even four years after it burned,” Vitousek said.
PG&E said in a statement to KQED that “no official cause of the Mosquito Fire has been determined,” but that settling the matter allows it to focus on making safety improvements throughout California.
An investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission found that PG&E failed to correct loose wire repairs, failed to clear vegetation around the base of the Oxbow Junction pole and disposed of the pole that allegedly started the fire after being instructed to preserve it — among other violations.
PG&E initially contested many of the allegations but ultimately agreed to some, including disposing of the pole and failing to correct a loose wire repair. The fine requires PG&E shareholders to put $21 million into the California general fund, which is used for most state expenditures.
An additional $1 million will go toward a third-party review of PG&E’s Centralized Inspection Review Team. Historically, fines by the commission have largely gone toward wildfire prevention and recovery efforts, with relatively little going into the general fund.
PG&E paid $45 million for the 2021 Dixie Fire, $150 million for the 2020 Zogg Fire and $125 million for the 2019 Kincade Fire, plus $1.937 billion for fires in 2017 and 2018.
“We owe it to Californians to learn from these fires, strengthen safety, and do everything we can to prevent the next tragedy,” California Public Utilities Commission Commissioner Christine Harada said in a statement announcing approval of the settlement.
Given that the fine is largely going toward the general fund, the resource conservation district’s Vitousek noted that it will not directly impact reforestation efforts. Vitousek said she hopes nevertheless that the agreement will lead to improved safety and maintenance.