Articles by Mark Chediak, Will Wade and David R. Baker

Huge Texas Blaze Shows Power-Line Fires Are a Widespread Threat

Massive wildfires sparked by power lines used to be a California problem, one many utility executives considered safely confined to the Golden State. No more. Texas officials on Thursday blamed the state’s largest-ever fire on electrical lines sparking in dry …

Huge Texas Blaze Shows Power-Line Fires Are a Widespread Threat

Massive wildfires sparked by power lines used to be a California problem, one many utility executives considered safely confined to the Golden State. No more. Texas officials on Thursday blamed the state’s largest-ever fire on electrical lines sparking in dry …

California Wildfires Are Exhausting 10,000-Strong Army Fighting Them

There are over 10,000 firefighters battling unprecedented blazes in California, but that isn’t enough, and the state is having a hard time finding more as flames rage across the western U.S. and Canada. Twelve major wildfires now burn in the …

Three Disasters Show Gaps in Infrastructure Plan

Three times this year, major pieces of U.S. infrastructure have failed: first the Texas power grid, then the East Coast’s main gasoline pipeline, then a freeway bridge over the Mississippi River. The crises disrupted businesses and lives, cost billions and …

How Everybody Ends Up Paying for Climate Crisis

Fallout from last month’s deadly deep freeze in Texas has quietly spread to people living hundreds of miles away. Minnesota utilities have warned that monthly heating bills could spike by $400, after the crisis jacked up natural gas prices across …

Climate-Friendly Battery Boom Presents Growing Fire Safety Challenge

The explosion ruptured the dusk settling over the desert in Surprise, Arizona. For hours, smoke had poured from a metal shed packed with lithium-ion batteries at a small electric substation. The batteries were tied to the electric grid, and somehow …

California and PG&E Reach $1.7B Deal on Wildfire Penalties

California utility regulators have reached a settlement with PG&E Corp. over violations tied to catastrophic wildfires ignited by the company’s power lines in 2017 and 2018. The proposed settlement would prevent PG&E from recovering $1.625 billion in wildfire-related costs from …

PG&E Power Shutoffs Hit 2.7M as California Wildfires Burn

Mass power shutoffs by PG&E Corp. left more than 2.7 million Californians in the dark Sunday, the state’s largest deliberate blackout ever, as the bankrupt utility tries to keep its equipment from igniting wildfires during the strongest wind storm in …

California Braces for Biggest Blackout Yet as Massive Wildfire Burns

As wildfires rage and utilities race to restore power, the worst may be yet to come for California residents. PG&E Corp. has restored power to about 165,000 customers in portions of 18 counties, or about 93% of those affected, the …

500K-Plus Californians Lose Power; Large Wildfire Rages

More than half a million people have lost power across California as part of a deliberate blackout designed to keep power lines from igniting wildfires. Meanwhile, a major blaze has already erupted. PG&E Corp. and other utilities have cut service …