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 Pacific Gas and Electric endangered millions of Northern
Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. 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 that 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.
California Burning is a deeply reported, character-driven
narrative, the story of a disaster expanding into a much bigger
exploration of accountability. It’s an American tragedy that serves
as a cautionary tale for utilities across the nation—especially as
climate change makes aging infrastructure more vulnerable, with
potentially fatal consequences.