NorCal wildfire survivors still short on payouts push Newsom to sign bill

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- Wildfire survivors, local leaders and business owners gathered in Santa Rosa on Friday to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill aimed at addressing wildfire compensation that remains unpaid.

The event was held at Paradise Ridge Winery, which was heavily damaged in the 2017 Tubbs Fire.

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"The Tubbs Fire came over these hills and burned down our hospitality center, our winemaking facility, and three homes on the property," co-owner Rene Byck told ABC7 Eyewitness News.

The Tubbs Fire killed 22 people and destroyed more than 5,600 structures. CAL FIRE determined a private electrical system started Tubbs, not PG&E equipment. But Tubbs was one of several fires whose victims were later included in PG&E's bankruptcy settlement. Many of the other fires were directly tied to PG&E equipment.

The California Public Utilities Commission says 16 of 17 North Bay fires it reviewed from October 2017 were ignited by PG&E equipment, while it attributed Tubbs to another source. CAL FIRE also determined the 2015 Butte Fire began when a tree contacted a PG&E power line.

Then came the 2018 Camp Fire. CAL FIRE determined PG&E electrical transmission lines sparked that fire, which killed 85 people and devastated the town of Paradise. PG&E accepted that finding. Facing billions of dollars in wildfire claims, PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019.

Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder, who lost his home and business in the Camp Fire, said some residents are still struggling to recover.

"We still have people living in RVs because they haven't been able to rebuild," Crowder said.

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PG&E's bankruptcy created the Fire Victim Trust to handle claims from the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay fires, including Tubbs, and the 2018 Camp Fire. PG&E and wildfire claimants reached a settlement valued at about $13.5 billion. The Trust ultimately approved about $19.57 billion in awards. Its final payouts will reach 71.25% of those approved awards, leaving about 29% uncovered.

That gap is at the center of AB 2700.

The bill would require the CPUC to calculate verified compensation shortfalls and recommend ways utilities could address them without passing restitution payments on to customers. The bill would not require PG&E to make another payment immediately. Any new payment mechanism would need additional approval from state lawmakers.

PG&E declined to comment on the legislation.

The Fire Victim Trust has said PG&E's legal responsibility for the older wildfire claims was resolved through the bankruptcy process and that the Trust itself cannot collect additional money from PG&E under that agreement.

AB 2700 passed the Legislature without opposition and is now awaiting action from Newsom. ABC7 Eyewitness News reached out to the governor's office to ask whether he plans to sign it. We did not receive a response.