Wildfire survivors are outraged as a funded group says it is standing up for them

A group claiming to represent California wildfire survivors began sending out mailers and paying for social media ads this spring, asking lawmakers to act to reduce the rising costs of the wildfires.

“Contact your legislator and tell them we need to fix our wildfire problem to make California more affordable,” said a mailer sent out this month by a group called Wildfire Victims First.

“Stand with the victims of the wildfire,” they said group website it says, urging people to join its cause.

The group was created with money from California's three largest for-profit electric utilities — Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric — that state investigators found fueled at least six of the state's 20 most destructive wildfires.

The companies' campaign has angered wildfire survivors, including thousands of families in Altadena who lost their homes in the Eaton fire last year. The fire that killed 19 people is still under investigation. Edison said its century-old transmission line was a possible cause.

A funded group is lobbying in Sacramento for proposals in a study Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered that it guide lawmakers in writing bills related to wildfires. The study did not ignore the role of firefighting services.

Among its many proposals are limited amounts victims can receive for pain and suffering, attorneys' fees for survivors and requiring property insurers to cover more costs for facility fires.

“Each proposal would shift many of the costs of catastrophic fires from responsible companies and onto survivors, policyholders, taxpayers, and the public,” wrote Joy Chen of the All Fire Survivor's Network. in a letter to Newsom this week.

Chen wrote that the industry-sponsored Wildfire Victims First campaign “created the impression that wildfire survivors support” the study's findings. “We don't know.”

The 15-page letter was signed by other organizations including Public Citizen, Consumer Watchdog and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

The coalition is urging Newsom and lawmakers to do more to hold utilities accountable for the fires they set, so they don't happen again.

“The Eaton fire devastated Altadena, home to one of the most prominent Black communities in California,” said Brandon Lamar, president of NAACP Pasadena, who signed the letter. “Now that survivors are fighting to rebuild, they should not be asked to bear the costs of protecting companies whose failures have destroyed their communities.”

Edison told his shareholders in his annual report that he believed he had worked “reasonably” before the fire. If state regulators agree it acted reasonably, Edison will be reimbursed for payments it made to victims through the $21 billion wildfire fund, which Newsom established through legislation in 2019.

And if the damage from the Eaton fire exceeds the $21 billion fund, Edison customers will pay the rest in electricity rates. under fine printas described embedded to last year's Senate Bill 254 — amendments that Newsom and lawmakers added so late that the legislative session had to be extended.

State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, a Democrat representing Altadena

he said he opposes any bill that would limit compensation for victims of pain and suffering.

“There is nothing that upsets me that I can think of when I have friends who lost family members in the fire,” she said.

Anthony Martinez, a spokesman for Newsom, said the Governor and lawmakers are talking about the new law because research “concludes that the current system is not sustainable and does not work for fire survivors, utility customers, or insurance holders.”

“It is imperative that we work to address the complex and interconnected challenges that Californians face in the face of the ever-increasing risk of dangerous wildfires,” Martinez said.

He did not reveal what specific measures the Governor supported.

Nathan Click, who directs the business campaign for Wildfire Victims First, said the group was formed after research found that “payments received by financial partners – such as attorneys, hedge funds, and insurance companies – are often paid before wildfire victims receive a single dollar.

“What's shocking is that trial lawyers can take up to 40% of the awards for wildfire victims,” ​​he said.

Click said the group advocated for legislation that would reduce the risk of wildfires, increase access to affordable property insurance and ensure faster compensation for victims.

The bailout campaign has been joined by electricians' unions, Sacramento Power, and the California Building Industry Association and dozens of other groups.

The Eaton fire was the second most destructive wildfire in state history.

Pedro Pizarro, the CEO of Edison International, said that last year leading theory the cause of the fire was that a defunct transmission line in Eaton Canyon was briefly re-energized through a process called induction, which caused the fire. Induction occurs when the magnetic field of a nearby live wire causes a current to flow through the passive material.

Edison kept the defunct transmission line in place even though it had not been used for 50 years. Federal agencies were aware of the dangers of leaving unused equipment in the area. In 2019, the Kincade fire in Sonoma County, which destroyed hundreds of homes, was caused by a malfunctioning transmission line owned by PG&E.

Despite the billions of dollars in damage caused by the Eaton fire, Edison's profits soared last year more than 200% – from $ 1.3 billion in 2024 to $ 4.5 billion.

The company also paid its top executives more. Pizarro earned $16.6 million in cash, stock and other compensation, up 20% from 2024.

“If the financial rewards of repeated failure are record profits, record compensation, and shareholder dividends,” Chen wrote in a letter to Newsom, “then catastrophic failure is exactly what this system will continue to produce.”