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California Power Provider PG&E Files For Bankruptcy In Wake Of Fire Lawsuits

The utility is facing billions of dollars in legal liability for fires caused by its equipment. PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which would let it restructure its debts.
Firefighters battle flames at a burning apartment complex in Paradise, Calif., in November. State fire officials say power lines coming into contact with trees have sparked multiple Northern California wildfires in recent years. PG&E filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.

Updated at 1:03 p.m. ET

Faced with billions of dollars in potential liabilities from two years of devastating Northern California wildfires as well as the specter of future catastrophic blazes, California's Pacific Gas and Electric, one of the nation's largest utilities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.

The state is investigating PG&E's culpability in November's Butte County fire that killed at least 86 people and incinerated some 14,000 homes and buildings in and around the town of Paradise, Calif.

The utility says it has no choice but to file for Chapter 11 given the flood

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