California Burning

<b><i>NATIONAL BESTSELLER</i><br>2022 Winner of the Golden Poppy Award for Nonfiction (California Independent Booksellers Alliance) <p/>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</b> <p/>Pacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In <i>California Burning Wall Street Journal</i> 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. <p/>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 <i>California Burning </i>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. <p/><i>California Burning </i>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.