Plumas County has secured six million dollars from a settlement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to help recovery and resilience after the 2021 Dixie Fire. District Attorney David Hollister negotiated the funding, which targets rebuilding infrastructure and supporting economic growth in communities most affected by recent fires. The plan also aims to lower wildfire risk.
The settlement directs one and a half million dollars to public safety infrastructure in Greenville and Chester. Another one and a half million dollars goes to The Almanor Foundation, which will focus on economic development and beautification in Dixie Fire-affected areas. Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship receives one million dollars for rural development and recovery projects. PG&E has set aside two million dollars for a wildfire resilience fund. This fund will remove dead trees and support fire prevention, working with the Plumas County Firesafe Council.
Community Recovery and Oversight
PG&E cannot raise customer rates to pay for these costs. County supervisors see the funding as a way to rebuild communities and attract new residents and businesses. The Almanor Foundation plans to use its share to promote jobs and recreation in northern Plumas County, coordinating projects for community impact. The Firesafe Council will remove hazardous burned trees along Greenville roads and plant new trees to restore the forest. Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship will rebuild trails and carry out wildfire mitigation projects, using feedback from nearly two hundred town hall meetings.
This settlement follows a 2022 agreement where PG&E paid twenty-nine and a half million dollars to five counties affected by the Dixie Fire. Plumas County received seventeen million dollars from that settlement, which went to local nonprofits, training programs, and commercial timberland owners for damage claims. PG&E also agreed to create new jobs in northern California. District attorneys hired a third-party monitor, funded by PG&E, to track and address complaints. Hollister meets regularly with the monitor to review issues and check compliance.
Legal Background and Ongoing Risks
Plumas County also settled a civil lawsuit for seven point eight million dollars to cover county property damages. The recent six million dollar settlement came after the July 2023 Twain Fire, which started with a PG&E contractor. That fire burned two hundred seventy-six acres but caused no injuries or property damage. Hollister used the incident to open broader talks with PG&E about long-term recovery. Available information links PG&E to more than fifteen hundred fires since 2015, resulting in over one hundred deaths. PG&E has used Public Safety Power Shutoffs as part of its wildfire risk mitigation, following California regulations that require the company to weigh wildfire risk against outage-related safety risks and hardships, as described in official PG&E safety guidance.
For more on the settlement and its impact on local recovery, see previous coverage.
