California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid

Author Katherine Blunt provides what is being called a "revelatory, urgent narrative with national implications," exploring the decline of California’s largest utility company that led to countless wildfires—including the one that destroyed the town of Paradise—and the human cost of infrastructure failure

Pacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries, establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In California Burning, Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer finalist Katherine Blunt examines how that legacy fell apart—unraveling a long history of deadly failures in which PG&E endangered millions of Northern Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. She says that as PG&E prioritized profits and politics, power lines went unchecked—until a rusted hook purchased for 56 cents in 1921 split in two, sparking the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Beginning with PG&E’s public reckoning after the Paradise fire, Blunt chronicles the evolution of PG&E’s shareholder base, from innovators who built some of California's first long-distance power lines to aggressive investors keen on reaping dividends. Following key players through pivotal decisions and legal battles, California Burning reveals the forces Blunt says shaped the plight of PG&E: deregulation and market-gaming led by Enron Corp., an unyielding push for renewable energy, and a swift increase in wildfire risk throughout the West, while regulators and lawmakers pushed their own agendas.

MLF ORGANIZER

Andrew Dudley

NOTES

SPEAKERS

Katherine Blunt

Reporter, The Wall Street Journal; Finalist, 2020 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting; Recipient, Gerald Loeb Award

Andrew Dudley

Co-Host and Producer, Earth Live; Chair, People & Nature Member-Led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator

We are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded live on September 12th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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