Paris Hilton's nonprofit gives $25,000 grants to women-owned small businesses hit by the Eaton Fire
'You think, 'I can go grab something — oh wait, it's in ashes,'' said Faquir, who has worked at the shop since her mother, Barbara Shay, took over the family business seven years ago.
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CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
SoCal Edison to create compensation program for Eaton Fire victims
Southern California Edison announced a compensation program for Eaton Fire victims on Wednesday. The utilities company will launch the voluntary program in the fall. It will provide direct payments for commercial property loss, business interruption, total and partial structure loss, smoke and ash damage, as well as physical injury and death. Even if they are not SoCal Edison customers, owners and renters can participate. SoCal Edison plans to release more details on eligibility requirements later this summer. The program is expected to last through 2026. SoCal Edison said it will not charge application fees, administrative costs or legal fees to participate. "Community members shouldn't have to wait for the final conclusions in the Eaton Fire investigation to get the financial support they need to begin rebuilding," said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, SCE's parent company. "Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly. This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation." The Eaton Fire ignited on Jan. 7 in the hillsides above Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre. Amid a Santa Ana storm that produced 100 mph wind gusts, the flames quickly moved into the nearby communities and burned a little more than 14,000 acres. It is the second most destructive fire in California history, after destroying 9,418 buildings. SoCal Edison is facing several lawsuits from Eaton Fire victims as well as Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena. The lawsuits allege that, despite warnings of potentially dangerous conditions, the Eaton Fire ignited below a SoCal Edison transmission tower. Attorneys in the lawsuits said those allegations are supported by evidence from photos, video footage and witness statements. One of the attorneys representing victims, Richard Bridgford, urged residents to be cautious about the program. "Their supposed fund is woefully lacking in detail," Bridgford wrote in a statement. "There's good reason for that: it's designed to vastly underpay the victims the true legal damages they are entitled to in a lawsuit." Bridgford said that in his firm's experience, similar programs have paid out far less than the cost of rebuilding. "In our experience, such funds have resulted in largely ignoring emotional distress, nuisance, and annoyance damages, alternative, living expense, lost plants and trees, and the true value of personal property while severely underestimating the price per square foot to rebuild," Bridgford wrote. "In our experience, providing $.40 on the dollar or less of the true cost to rebuild in today's dollars." SoCal Edison said individuals and businesses who have filed a lawsuit against the company can participate in the program.
Los Angeles Times
8 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Edison offers to pay Eaton fire victims for damages, in move to avoid litigation
Seeking to avoid lengthy litigation, Southern California Edison said Wednesday it will offer to compensate Eaton fire victims directly for damages suffered, even though it has yet to formally concede that its equipment ignited the blaze on Jan. 7. Edison said it planned to launch a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program this fall that would be open to those who lost homes, businesses or rental properties in the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures in Altadena. It would also cover those who were harmed by smoke, suffered physical injuries or had family members who died. 'Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly,' Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility's parent company, said in a press release. 'This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.' The utility said it had hired consultants Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros, who had worked on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, to help design the program. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Edison in the wake of the Jan. 7 fire that videos captured igniting under a transmission line in Eaton Canyon. The cause is still under investigation, but Pizarro has said a leading theory is that an idle Edison transmission line, last used in 1971, somehow became re-energized and started the blaze. An attorney who represents fire victims expressed skepticism of the plan, saying it could lead to reduced compensation for fire victims. 'In the past, the utilities have proposed these programs as a means for shorting and underpaying victims,' said attorney Richard Bridgford said. 'Victims have uniformly done better when represented by counsel.' Edison said the program would be designed to quickly compensate victims, including those who were insured. People can apply with or without an attorney, it said. The program is expected to run through 2026. 'The architecture and timing of the SCE direct claims program will be instrumental in efficiently managing funding resources, mitigating interest costs and minimizing inflationary pressures so funds can address actual claims and fairly compensate community members for their losses,' Pizarro said. If Edison is found responsible for the fire, the state's $21 billion wildfire fund is expected to reimburse the company for all or most of the payments it makes to victims. Brigford said he believed the wildfire fund would be enough to cover the Eaton fire claims. 'They are trying to make people panic so they don't get adequate representation,' he said. Others are concerned that the state wildfire fund is inadequate. Officials at the Earthquake Authority, which administers the wildfire fund, said in documents released in advance of a Thursday meeting that they fear the costs of the Eaton fire could exhaust the fund. State officials plan to discuss what can be done to lengthen the life of the fund at the meeting. Edison said more information on eligibility and other details of the compensation plan would be released in the coming weeks.
Bloomberg
10 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Edison Sets Up Compensation Program for Eaton Fire Victims
Southern California Edison will set up a program to compensate victims of a deadly Los Angeles wildfire that it has acknowledged may be linked to the company's electrical equipment. The utility, owned by Edison International, said the voluntary claims program will provide direct payments and fast resolutions to eligible individuals and businesses impacted by January's Eaton Fire. While the cause of the wildfire that killed 18 people and destroyed more than 9,000 structures has yet to be determined, Southern California Edison has said it will probably incur material losses from the blaze that started near the base of one of its transmission lines.
