Altadena Survivors Demand $200K from Edison as Recovery Stalls

A group of Altadena fire survivors and supporters held a Good Friday procession to pressure Southern California Edison to provide immediate financial relief for displaced families. Marchers went to Edison CEO Pedro J. Pizarro’s home, using religious imagery to argue that Altadena has been devastated and needs help now. Speakers called on Edison to provide at least $200,000 per displaced family or individual through an urgent housing relief fund, saying many survivors are still displaced, moving repeatedly, losing businesses, exhausting unemployment benefits, and facing homelessness. Edison responded that it has already reached settlements in more than 1,400 cases through its wildfire compensation program, which it says offers voluntary settlements, but the company indicated it does not plan to contribute to an emergency fund. Yet residents with standing homes that survived the fire are very familiar with the fact that the compensation plan SCE is offering is nowhere near what it costs to safely restore their homes for reoccupancy due the levels of contamination that remains inside homes that didn’t burn but were impacted by toxic smoke and ash. The story also cited a nonprofit report saying 8 out of 10 families displaced by the fire in Altadena remain displaced, underscoring how incomplete the recovery still is. Access the news story here.