California has a wildfire problem. Entire towns & thousands of homes have been lost. Homeowners are finding it difficult to purchase insurance at any price: "Record-breaking wildfire seasons in 2017 and 2018 caused huge losses for the insurance industry in California. In November 2018 alone, insurer losses were more than $12 billion"– California's insurance crisis resulting in canceled policies, increased rates.
Since multiple fires have been found to have been caused by electrical equipment coming into contact with tree limbs, once might think that an obvious step might be trimming the trees in the vicinity of power equipment. Which PG&E does attempt to do. I say "attempt" because of stories like this one (from the The Tribue, out of San Luis Obisbo): "PG&E contractor smashed Morro Bay owl eggs while trimming trees. What happened?" It seems one Theresa Pena came home to find two smashed eggs beneath a palm tree in which a pair of great horned owls had been nesting. "I broke down. I was sobbing. I could barely even speak," she said. "It was a combination of pure anger and confusion and heartbreak." It seems a contractor working for PG&E to trim the tree accidentally knocked the eggs out of the nest. Pena has now filed a complaint with the state, claiming that PG&E has violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which could carry a fine of up to $10,000.
I'm glad the state is on top this, so we can go back to complaining about PG&E's high rates & propensity for starting disasterous fires.