Thursday, October 9, 2025

Eaton Fire Survivors Challenge Edison’s Compensation Plan

[Eddie Rivera / Pasadena Now]

Group says utility’s draft proposal mirrors insurance industry tactics that courts have rejected

Some survivors of the Eaton Fire say Southern California Edison’s proposed compensation plan undervalues their losses and could leave thousands without adequate resources to rebuild.

The survivor group plans to release a 47-page response Thursday morning ahead of a press conference at The Good Neighbor Bar in Altadena.

The document criticizes Edison’s draft protocol for basing eligibility on a firefighter’s field map that Cal Fire warns should not determine recovery assistance.

“Edison has made that line the gatekeeper of recovery, excluding families whose homes have tested positive for toxic contamination,” the report says.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs previously called Edison’s plan “unfair, self-serving, and inadequate.”

The survivors’ analysis focuses on what they allege are eight major gaps in Edison’s Sept. 17 draft protocol.

The report includes testimony from survivors still-displaced nine months after the fire.

The survivor network compiled the response with input from hundreds of affected families.

Andrew Wessels, Krista Copelan and Joy Chen coordinated the document’s preparation.

The group recommends Edison establish a dedicated compensation fund that prioritizes survivors over institutional claims.

They call for eliminating geographic boundaries and basing eligibility on verified evidence of harm instead.

The document also urges Edison to preserve survivors’ rights to file future health claims for fire-related illnesses.