Calif. Governor Shifts Position on Utility Companies' Liability in Wildfires

California Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to make it easier for utility companies in his state to stay out of legal hot water in the case of equipment-caused wildfires — in the name of climate change.

Brown proposed to the state legislature last month a new rule that would not automatically assign liability to public utilities companies in the event their equipment sparks a fire.

After referencing discussions he has had regarding climate change and the perceived wildfire threat it causes, Brown wrote that utility companies should not necessarily be punished at a time when they should be investing more money in their networks. And climate change, he wrote, will make wildfire fighting and cleanup even more expensive.

"Now more than ever, Californians depend on reliable electrical power to heat and cool homes, run hospitals and fire stations, and so much more," Brown wrote. "Yet, the increasingly destructive and costly wildfires and natural disasters have the potential to undermine this system, leaving our energy sector in a state of weakness at a time when it should be making even greater investments in safety."

He added, "climate change will make these wildfires even more destructive and costly."

Brown's proposal would mandate that utility companies be taken to court before they are fined if their equipment is found to have caused a fire. Current rules allow the state to slap fines of $500 to $50,000 on them without courts getting involved, although the legislation would raise the ceiling to $100,000.

Former state Sen. Noreen Evans pushed back on Brown's proposal, telling the San Francisco Chronicle that Brown is trying to deflect responsibility away from utility companies when they are at fault.

"Governor Brown's proposal would relieve public utilities of responsibility for the fires caused by their equipment by mandating that judges balance the 'public benefit' of utilities against the private harm," Evans said. "No other wrongdoer is given that kind of consideration by our courts when they kill, maim or harm innocent people."

Multiple fires are burning throughout California. Scientists told the Chronicle in a new story that climate change seems to be at least partially to blame.

• Wildfires Barrel Toward Northern California Lake Towns
• Southern California Home Sales Crash in Warning to Rest of Nation