By David R. Baker
The San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — A 1999 forest fire started by a tree falling onto a power line in the Sierra foothills will cost Pacific Gas and Electric Co. $14.8 million, federal officials said Tuesday.
The utility, based in San Francisco, has agreed to pay that amount to settle government claims that PG&E should have removed the rotten tree, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. It is the second-largest settlement for a forest fire in United States Forest Service history.
The fire started on Oct. 16, 1999, near the town of Camptonville Yuba County and burned 11,725 acres before it was extinguished 11 days later. More than 2,500 firefighters battled the blaze, at a cost of $4.2 million. Most of the settlement announced Tuesday will pay the government for damages to the country’s natural resources, as well as ongoing restoration efforts.
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