Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to plead guilty to 84 involuntary manslaughter counts in connection with the 2018 Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California’s history.

The plea by California’s largest utility was announced on Monday by its parent PG&E Corp, three days after the utility accepted tighter oversight and pledged billions of dollars to improve safety and help wildfire victims, under an agreement California Governor Gavin Newsom.

That agreement ended a major roadblock to PG&E’s planned emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as Newsom devotes his attention to the coronavirus outbreak in his state...

...The fire began on Nov. 8, 2018, and destroyed much of the town of Paradise, which had about 26,000 people, and nearby Concow. More than 18,000 buildings were destroyed. PG&E also pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully starting a fire...

...Under the agreement, PG&E would pay a maximum $3.5 million fine plus $500,000 in costs, and up to $15 million to provide water to residents after the fire destroyed the utility’s Miocene Canal...

...PG&E also agreed to put itself up for sale if it cannot emerge from Chapter 11 by a state-imposed June 30 deadline, before the next wildfire season begins.