PG&E has agreed to a $13.5 billion settlement to pay victims of wildfires going back to 2015. Bankruptcy Court approval of the settlement agreement would put PG&E on a sustainable path forward to emerge from Chapter 11 by the June 30, 2020, deadline to participate in the State of California's go-forward wildfire fund. (photo courtesy PG&E)
A Santa Rosa Police officer fired shots at a man thought to be holding a rifle Saturday. The roads were closed at Fulton and Guerneville Roads Saturday afternoon after reports of a man who may have a firearm and pointing it a people and cars. The man didn't comply with the officer's orders and tried to run away as the officer shot at him, but missed. He was caught and an investigation is underway. (photo courtesy Santa Rosa)
Fire Season officially ended today. Because of the recent rains and cooler temps, Cal Fire announced the transition out of peak fire season in Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Solano, Yolo, and Colusa counties. Statewide, firefighters from many local agencies responded to over 5,600 wildfires, and locally, CAL FIRE responded to 177 wildfires that charred 80,916 acres. (photo courtesy The Mercury News)
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for the Kincade fire burn area in Sonoma County starting Friday afternoon at 4pm until Saturday at 4am, with from to 2 to 4 inches of rain possible over a 12-hour period. Hourly rainfall rates could exceed a half-inch in an hour, leading to flash flooding or debris flows. (photo courtesy KTAR News)
Youth climate strikes are planned for today in Santa Rosa and Sonoma. The group Sunrise Sonoma County is urging youth to walk out of schools, workplaces and homes to participate in a Die-In For Life at noon on campuses across the county and at Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa. In Sonoma, a School Strike For The Climate is planned for 1:30 p.m. at the Sonoma Plaza. Then at 5 p.m., a candlelight march is scheduled from Julliard Park to Old Courthouse Square, where a vigil will be held for human and non-human victims of the devastating wildfires in the county and the global victims of climate-related disasters. (photo courtesy center for climate protection)
California has ordered insurance companies to stop dropping customers who live in areas affected by recent wildfires. The order from Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will only last for one year. And it only covers people who live within the perimeter of one of 16 different wildfires that raged across the state in October. But it marks the first time the state has used a new law designed to give homeowners more time to find coverage as the growing threat of wildfires makes insuring their properties more expensive. (photo courtesy Petaluma Argus Courier)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the city of Santa Rosa more than $4.4 million in grants to help the city rebuild and fortify its infrastructure following the 2017 wildfires. Congressman Mike Thompson announced the grants in a news release yesterday. A $3.36 million grant will replace 19 stationary generators at water and wastewater facilities and a $1.06 million grant will be used to install back up battery systems for traffic signal controllers at 175 locations. (photo courtesy Wireless Environment)
