Utility-Backed Alliance Impersonating Fire Survivors to Sway Public Support

The LA Times reports on Wildfire Victims First, a campaign that presents itself as representing fire survivors, but is actually funded by California’s three largest investor-owned utilities: Southern California Edison, PG&E, and San Diego Gas & Electric. Through youtube, mailers, and social media advertising, the group has urged Californians and legislators to support changes to the state’s wildfire liability system while claiming to be the voice of wildfire survivors. The utility-funded campaign is promoting proposals connected to a state-commissioned wildfire study that was funded through AB 254 to push legislators to approve the study’s recommendations to:

• limit compensation for survivors’ pain, suffering, and emotional trauma;
• cap attorneys’ fees;
• require property insurers to cover more of the costs of utility-caused fires; and
• restructure how wildfire claims are evaluated and paid.

If enacted, these changes could significantly reduce the compensation available to survivors of utility-caused fires such as the Eaton Fire. Add your name at DearNewsom.org to tell Gov. Newsom that our losses matter, that emotional recovery requires real financial support, and that survivors deserve full compensation for the irreplaceable losses they have endured.
Action: Add your name to the Dear Newsom letter.
LA Times