PG&E must pay $150 million for role in deadly 2020 Zogg Fire in Shasta and Tehema counties

California regulators ordered PG&E Corp. to pay $150 million in total penalties for its role in starting a deadly 2020 wildfire in Northern California.

PG&E was fined $10 million and will have to use shareholder money to fund $140 million in brush management programs, according to a resolution passed Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The Zogg Fire in Shasta and Tehama counties started when a gray pine fell onto a PG&E power line, according to a Cal Fire investigation.

California investigators alleged PG&E failed to remove the tree on time because of poor record- keeping, according to a statement. The wildfire burned more than 56,000 acres and caused four deaths and more than $50 million in damages.

PG&E had disputed the alleged violations.

The company said in a statement it shares the commission’s commitment to improve safety and the settlement agreement will allow the utility to focus on efforts to improve its system.

Preventing wildfires and resolving liability from the blazes has weighed heavily on PG&E for years.

The company was forced into bankruptcy in 2019 after fires sparked by power lines and transformers burned more than 1 million acres in Northern California and killed 127 people.