Black Altadena Fire Victims Clash With Edison Over Compensation

Outside a hallway wherever Southern California Edison was celebrating Black History Month connected Friday, a group of Altadena residents stood connected nan sidewalk, waving signs and talking of nan homes and family members they mislaid successful past year’s Eaton fire.

“They’re successful location celebrating Black history and they’ve destroyed a Black town,” said Nicole Vasquez of My Tribe Rise, which helped shape nan protest.

The Jan. 7, 2025 occurrence destroyed thousands of homes, including nan majority of homes successful westbound Altadena, a historically Black community. All but 1 of nan 19 group who died were successful westbound Altadena.

“If Edison’s building did not ignite nan fire, Altadena would still beryllium there,” said Trevor Howard Kelley, who mislaid his 83-year-old mother, Erliene, in nan fire.

Kelley, his girl and 2 granddaughters had been surviving pinch his mother earlier her location was destroyed, he said.

The Black Altadena residents are portion of a larger coalition that is asking Edison to beforehand each family who mislaid their location $200,000 successful emergency lodging assistance. They opportunity that much than a twelvemonth aft nan blaze galore wildfire survivors are moving retired of nan costs they had received from insurers.

The group protesting Friday besides called for transparency from Edison. The institution has said it believes it is apt its instrumentality caused nan occurrence but has continued to contradict it did thing wrong.

“We conscionable want nan truth,” said Felicia Ford, who mislaid her location successful nan fire. “What’s incorrect pinch saying, ‘We sewage this wrong.’”

Scott Johnson, an Edison spokesperson, said Friday that nan institution continued to judge its voluntary compensation program was nan champion measurement to thief victims of nan fire. Edison has promised to quickly reappraisal each victim’s declare and salary it swiftly if approved.

Families who mislaid their homes tin person hundreds of thousands of dollars nether nan program, while those pinch damaged homes person lesser amounts.

But galore survivors opportunity they don’t judge nan offered amounts afloat compensate their losses. And to person nan money, victims must work together not to writer — which galore are not consenting to do.

“We admit nan unthinkable struggles nan organization has faced,” Johnson said. “The intent of nan programme is to scope last settlements to let nan organization to rebuild and move on.”

The investigation into nan origin of nan occurrence has not yet been released. Edison has said a starring theory is that its century-old transmission statement successful Eaton Canyon, which had not carried energy for 50 years, someway became reenergized and sparked nan fire.

Company executives said they did not region nan aged line because they believed it would beryllium utilized successful nan future.

Tru Williams said he conscionable wants to get his parents backmost home.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

In December, authorities regulators ordered Edison to place occurrence risks connected its 355 miles of out-of work transmission lines located successful areas of precocious occurrence consequence and show regulators really executives planned to usage nan lines successful nan future.

This week, Edison disclosed that nan Los Angeles County territory lawyer was investigating whether Edison should beryllium criminally prosecuted for its actions successful nan fire.

West Altadena became one of L.A.’s first middle-class Black neighborhoods successful nan 1960s, partially because discriminatory redlining practices for years kept Black homebuyers from settling eastbound of Lake Avenue.

Heavenly Hughes, co-founder of My Tribe Rise, told nan crowd she had lived successful Altadena for 50 years.

“I was raised successful a thriving working-class organization and they person destroyed that community,” Hughes said, referring to Edison.

Added Ford, “The group making these decisions aren’t suffering astatine all. They’re still getting their paychecks, bonuses and banal options.”