Following Cal Fire’s finding that PG&E’s transmission line caused California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history, PG&E announced it will rebuild electric distribution lines underground in the town of Paradise and in nearby communities like Magalia.

Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama), a fierce advocate for the undergrounding of electric lines, expressed appreciation for PG&E’s commitment to the recovery efforts.

“Rebuilding the power lines underground is a step in the right direction,” Senator Nielsen said. “The people of Paradise and the Ridge have suffered enough.”

Senator Nielsen added, “PG&E’s commitment to help reduce future fire risks gives residents a little bit of hope about their participation in the rebuilding efforts.”

At Wednesday night’s Paradise Town Council meeting, a PG&E executive made the commitment to “help this community recover…PG&E has decided to build our electric distribution system underground in the town of Paradise and in some of the surrounding areas like parts of Magalia.”

This announcement follows the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 70 (Nielsen), a measure to push utilities to include undergrounding of electrical distribution lines in their wildfire mitigation plans. SB 70 is now in the Assembly for deliberation, before it goes to the Governor for his consideration.