Erin Brockovich joins legal team suing PG&E over October wildfires

Celebrity environmental crusader Erin Brockovich, made famous by an Oscar-winning film about her work fighting PG&E, has joined the legal team representing more than? 1,500 North Bay residents suing the utility company over last year’s wildfires.

Brockovich, who addressed a crowd of fire survivors Tuesday in Santa Rosa, has been brought on as a consultant for Mauro Archer & Associates and Watts Guerra LLP because of her long history of working on lawsuits against PG&E, said former state Sen. Noreen Evans, a Santa Rosa attorney with Watts Guerra.

“She understands PG&E’s pattern of corporate behavior,” Evans said. “We brought her on our team to consult about PG&E’s longtime pattern of malfeasance.”

Evans said she’s worked with Brockovich in the past, and asked the popular environmental advocate to join the legal team about a week and a half ago.

But Brockovich said local residents affected by the fire had already reached out to her, asking her to delve into issues such as water contamination and poor air quality.

“People are concerned about the long-term health effects in situations like this,” she said. “I’ve come up here for that reason, to see how I can help clarify that path for them moving forward.”

Brockovich, who lives in Agoura Hills, said she was in frequent contact with her family in Willits, including her son, during last October’s devastating fires.

She has since encouraged local residents to demand action and and in their pursuit of “the truth,” a message she underscored Tuesday evening at Santa Rosa’s Teamsters Hall.

“It hurts when people email me and they’re confused and they’re lost and they don’t know who to believe,” she said.

“I’m not going stand here and push you any one way. You’re always going to make your own choices, but I am going to ask you again to remember - you were here, you know right from wrong. You know what you need and that we need to speak up. I’m not sure why we haven’t done it for so long, but we’re here today.”

Brockovich gained national attention nearly two decades ago, when her work as a legal clerk was portrayed in a blockbuster Hollywood movie about groundwater contamination in the town of Hinkley, California, California.

The 2000 movie, “Erin Brockovich,” dramatized her investigation and legal battle against PG&E, and the subsequent $333 million settlement.

PG&E officials declined to comment directly about their legal opponents’ decision to hire Brockovich.

Company spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said only that PG&E is doing what it can to help communities affected by the wildfires.

“The loss of life, homes and businesses in these extraordinary wildfires is simply heartbreaking, and we remain focused on helping communities in Sonoma County recover and rebuild,” Contreras said.

Brockovich and Evans spent much of Tuesday making the rounds among North Bay media outlets, announcing her high-profile participation in the lawsuits against PG&E. Brockovich told The Press Democrat that she hopes her involvement will encourage more people to speak out about how they were affected by the fires.

“They have information and they don’t know who to give it to,” she said.

“It’s called trust. They don’t know who to trust.”

Brockovich would not discuss details about her fee, saying it pales in comparison to what PG&E executives make.

The suits against PG&E claim the utility company failed to properly maintain its electrical infrastructure and was inadequately prepared for high winds. Attorneys argued that neglect caused the blazes that burned nearly a quarter -million acres, killed 44 people, destroyed ?9,000 homes and resulted in ?$10 billion in damage in Northern California.

Earlier this month, Cal Fire investigators concluded equipment owned and operated by PG&E ignited 12 of the October wildfires in Northern California. Investigators have yet to release their determination on the Tubbs fire - the most destructive - that burned from Calistoga into Santa Rosa, killing 22 people and destroying more than 4,000 homes, most of them in Santa Rosa.

PG&E asserts the fires resulted from a confluence of unprecedented weather events, including drought, heavy rains, record summer heat and high winds. It also contends local government shares in the blame, arguing that the local fire response and preparations for such a disaster were inadequate.

Residents were optimistic about Brockovich’s addition to the team, including 57-year-old Karl Horcher, 57, who escaped from his Larkfield home with his 87-year-old mother early Oct. 9.

He was among a crowd that asked a medley of questions, including inquires about health issues, Cal Fire reports about the utility’s responsibility in the fires and the potential for the company to file bankruptcy.

“She’s taken these guys on before and won,” said Horcher, who is in the process of rebuilding his North Dover Court home.