Wildfires, including the largest in California’s history, continued to burn over the weekend, while lawmakers in Sacramento debated the liability issue hovering over major utility companies that are facing precarious financial times.

The three largest of the 15 fires still burning Sunday continued to torch more acreage, but firefighters were gaining ground with more favorable weather conditions. Major electric utilities were monitoring the fires, but they had no reports of fire involvement with utility infrastructure.

In Northern California, where Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has a lot at stake, the Mendocino Complex fire, officially the largest ever in the state, had charred nearly 290,000 acres and was 62% contained on Sunday, according to officials. Similarly, the Carr fire had burned more than 201,000 acres and was 61% contained.

Last Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state emergency in Riverside County because of the Holy Fire, which on Sunday, had spread over 22,714 acres but was 51% contained.

The state legislature’s conference committee for proposed wildfire mitigation planning and preparation requirements for electric utilities continued to also probe the utility liability issue. The two-year legislative session adjourns at the end of the month.

Sides have been drawn between advocates for utility relief and skeptics worried about giving away too much to the utilities.

Utilities argue that relief is needed from the state’s application of so-called inverse condemnation (IC) in which utilities can be liable for billions of dollars of claims related to the fires even when no negligence is found on their part. But others, including local governments and the insurance industry, are concerned that the utilities are trying to get a blank check and freedom from any responsibility in the wake of the fires.

A half-dozen hearings have been scheduled to address the issues in the next two weeks, including this week to examine the utility planning and preparedness as articulated in state Senate Bill 901, the main legislative focus.

So far, each of the conference committee hearings has been drawn back to the liability issue. Last week lawmakers discussed a proposal from the governor to create an IC standard. Lawmakers have expressed a reluctance to do anything that would shift more fire costs onto utility customers as opposed to shareholders, and to get away from the negligence test.

This year’s wildfires have not involved utility equipment that sparked blazes, but the majority of the horrific fires last fall did, in most instances, involve utility equipment or operations.