PG&E charged in California wildfire last year that killed 4

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in a Northern California wildfire last year that killed four people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Investigators determined that aging equipment belonging to the nation’s largest utility sparked the Zogg Fire last September near the city of Redding. Prosecutors announced 31 charges on Friday. PG&E’s CEO says the deaths are a tragedy but that failing to prevent the fire isn’t a crime. It’s the latest legal action against the utility. It pleaded guilty last year to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter over a 2018 blaze in Paradise that was ignited by its long-neglected electrical grid.