Electricity firm PG&E pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter over California wildfires

The fire, which broke out in Butte County north of Sacramento, led to 85 deaths and $16.5bn in damage, the costliest natural disaster of 2018

Utility company PG&E is to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges following the California wildfire in 2018.

The felony criminal charges are in connection with the company's role in the fire that decimated the town of Paradise and led to 85 deaths, the deadliest in the state's history.

PG&E agreed to plead guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire, the WSJ reported on Monday. The news came following a regulatory filing from the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The fire destroyed more than 18,000 residential and commercial buildings and burned through 153,000 acres. Fire crews battled for 17 days to get the blaze under control.

There were 85 fatalities, including civilians and fire personnel, and three injuries.

The wildfire began on 8 November in Butte County north of Sacramento and spread rapidly, aided by high temperatures, winds and dry vegetation during one of the hottest years on record.

The cost of the damage from Camp Fire was $16.5bn, the world’s most expensive natural disaster of 2018.

The deadly fire was named after Camp Creek Road, where the fire broke out.

Cal Fire, the department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the state, concluded that electrical transmission lines belonging to PG&E, Pacific Gas & Electric, caused the fire, following a "thorough and meticulous investigation", NBC reported.

The company said in February 2019 that its equipment had probably caused the fire, a month after it filed for bankruptcy protection.

At the time, Donald Trump claimed that the fire spread due to California’s poor forest management and threatened he would cut off federal funding to the state, The Washington Post reported.