wildfire risk News

PG&E`s Plan to Bury Power Lines and Prevent Wildfires Faces Opposition Because of High Rates

VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric — one of the nation`s largest utilities whose equipment has sparked some of California`s deadliest wildfires — wants to bury power lines in some of its most at-risk areas to prevent destructive …

Berkshire Shows Unusual Risk Appetite in Wildfire Court Fight

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.’s PacifiCorp has been battered in an unprecedented court fight over the utility’s failure to prevent massive wildfire destruction in Oregon. The largest grid operator in the western US faces the risk that it will have to …

California Regulators Propose Higher Rates for PG&E Customers to Reduce Wildfire Risk

The commission on Wednesday could not say what the increase would be for the average residential customer. But it is likely to be far less than what PG&E had initially requested — the company had asked for rate increases large …

US Push to Lower Wildfire Risk Across the West Stumbles in Places

DOWNIEVILLE, Calif. (AP) – Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the U.S. West through a multi-billion dollar cleanup of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth. …

Oregon’s Wildfire Risk Map Emerges as New Climate Flashpoint

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A new map in Oregon that rated the wildfire risk of every tax lot in the state — labeling nearly 80,000 structures as high-risk — generated so much pushback from angry homeowners that officials abruptly retracted …

Europe Wildfire Risk Heightened by Early Heat Waves, Drought

MADRID (AP) — Extended drought conditions in several Mediterranean countries, a heat wave last week that reached northern Germany and high fuel costs for aircraft needed to fight wildfires have heightened concerns across Europe this summer. And it’s only June. …

California Utilities to Spend Billions to Cut Wildfire Risk

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s largest utilities said Friday that they will spend about $13 billion to reduce the risk of wildfires following the worst fire season in modern state history and a string of blazes that were blamed on …

Wildfire Expert Warns Against July 3 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Show

A July 3 fireworks display planned at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial would be “ill advised” because of the abnormally dry conditions and risk of summer wildfires, a fire expert said. The event could attract as many as 7,500 people, …

As PG&E Blackouts Ebb, Southern California Wind Risk Surges

As Northern California residents began to get their power back, people in the Southern part of the state were facing some of the strongest winds “in recent memory” and utilities there were cutting service and warning blackouts could spread. PG&E …

Cutting California’s Power Is Job Nobody Wants Ahead of Blackouts

California’s governor is sparring with the state’s largest utility over who decides when to cut the power. It’s a no-win situation: As hot, dry winds sweep across the state, switching off the electricity is seen as a needed measure to …