Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu

Frustration And Tears As Paradise Turns Out To Protest The PG&E Fire Victim Trust

Monday, May 24, 2021 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Lily Jamali / KQED

Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, Calif. May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.

Lily Jamali / KQED

By Lily Jamali

PARADISE, Calif.  -- Teri Lindsay said she had no intention of speaking at a fire survivors’ rally that drew about a hundred people to the Skyway in Paradise Saturday. But as her daughter, Erika, stood by her side — tears streaming down the young girl’s face — Lindsay voiced her frustration at her family’s living conditions 2.5 years after the 2018 Camp Fire. 

“Everytime she sees smoke, she cries. She can’t heal until we can go home,” Lindsay said of Erika, who was seven when the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed their house, and thousands of others in Paradise. The fire was caused by equipment belonging to PG&E. They’ve been living in a trailer overlooking a branch of Lake Oroville ever since.

 

Teri Lindsay with daughter Erika, speaks at a rally in Paradise, Calif. May 22, 2021. They lost their home in the 2018 Camp Fire.Lily Jamali / KQED

 

Like the vast majority of the 70,000 fire victims of PG&E fires caused between 2015 and 2018, Lindsay has not yet received any money from the Fire Victim Trust. The Trust was set up last year to distribute billions of dollars as part of a settlement between fire survivors and PG&E.

Lindsay said she was motivated to join this weekend’s rally after reading a KQED investigation, published earlier this month, which showed that the Fire Victim Trust racked up $51 million in overhead costs last year, while distributing $7 million to fire victims during that period. The investigation was based on KQED’s analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between the Fire Victim Trust and fire victims. 

At the end of last year, fire victims had received less  than 0.1% of the approximately $13.5 billion they were promised. 

“I thought that I was healing. Until that report came out, it changed my life and took me back to the day. I did not realize how well they're being paid and we’re living in squalor still,” Lindsay said. 

John Trotter, the retired California Appeals Court Justice who runs the Fire Victim Trust, has declined KQED’s repeated interview requests. In a YouTube video released last week, he acknowledged the fire victims frustration, but also predicted more delays.

“The trust didn't create the settlement,” Trotter said. “We're still walking uphill on this. We're not near the top yet. We're making progress. We're getting there. When we get to the top and down the other side, it will go much more quickly."

According to the Trust, the pace of payments is picking up — with about $255.4 million distributed as of May 19. But, even then, only 565 of nearly 70,000 eligible families had their claims processed and paid, according to the data. In addition, those families are getting 30% of what they're owed while the Trust collects its own fees in full. Every dollar spent on overhead comes out of the fund for fire victims. One court filing, unearthed by KQED showed Trotter charged the Fire Victim Trust $1,500 an hour. In the video, he said he had taken a pay cut — to a “very adequate” salary of $150,000 a month.

The 30% payment structure is partly a result of the terms of PG&E’s settlement with fire victims. The company has funded the Trust half with cash and half with PG&E stock. The arrangement, which has few precedents, made the fire victims major significant shareholders in the utility and has complicated the task of administering the Trust, experts say. 

 

Angela Casler at a rally in Paradise, Calif. Held on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses incurred by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.. She lost her father-in-law shortly after the Camp Fire.Lily Jamali / KQED

 

Since KQED’s investigation, members of Congress from both parties have demanded action.  In separate emails, Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat, and Doug LaMalfa, a Republican both called for faster payouts. James Gallagher, a state Assemblyman who represents Paradise, says KQED's investigation "raises a lot of questions and concerns that need answers." In an interview on KQED Forum this week, Gallagher said he and his colleagues were preparing a letter calling for more transparency.  

Fire victims are making similar requests. "Families are still living in cars, travel trailers and FEMA trailers," Kirk Trostle, a retired police chief who lost his home in Paradise in 2018, wrote to Judge Montali May 12, citing KQED's reporting.

"Stating fire victims are languishing is an understatement," he added. "I request you speed up the process to a sprint-like manner and direct the [Fire Victim Trust] to provide transparency and accountability”

At Saturday’s rally, Camp Fire victim Sasha Poe reiterated those calls, saying survivors have the right to know where all of those administrative dollars are going.

“The Trust is set up for fire victims,” said Poe, who joined the rally along with her husband and children. “Yet so many months and years down the line, fire victims haven't seen much.”


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  
  • Environment
  •  

 wildfires

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.