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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, October 3, 2025…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise remains California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history. The Northern California fire claimed the lives of 85 people. Now, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mynspr.org/news/2025-09-26/paradise-bus-driver-survivors-relive-camp-fire-escape-as-the-lost-bus-premieres-at-fires-epicenter\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a new movie\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> depicts the real-life heroic escape of one local bus driver. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yosemite National Park \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">remains open during the government shutdown\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but there won’t be many rangers there to help visitors.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The US Department of Education is ending several grant programs that support minority-serving institutions. Department officials say these programs are discriminatory. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/09/minority-student-funding-california/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California stands to lose more grant money \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">than any other state – for programs that support Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students on college campuses.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003cstrong>Paradise Bus Driver, Survivors Relive Camp Fire Escape As ‘The Lost Bus’ Premieres \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The Lost Bus” tells the story of a Paradise school bus driver and a teacher who helped 22 kids escape the Camp Fire in 2018. The fire killed 85 people and remains the most deadly and destructive in California’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the movie premiere last month, the film resonated in Chico and Oroville — two cities close to Paradise where many survivors relocated after the fire. Crowds packed into theaters to witness a film about their community’s experience. A line wrapped around The Pageant Theater in Chico, and Feather River Cinemas in Oroville also drew a full house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin McKay, the real-life bus driver at the heart of the film played by Matthew McConaughey, showed up to Feather River Cinemas with family and friends, many from Cal Fire. He told NSPR what it was like to watch his story on the big screen nearly seven years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s super surreal for me, being that the core storyline is about my life,” McKay said. “But at the same time, I’m a Camp Fire survivor, and so, honestly, there’s so many different ways that I connect to the film.” McKay said he hopes other survivors who see the movie feel seen and heard. He also hopes people leave with the message of “normal people, helping other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">\u003cstrong>Yosemite Is Open During The Shutdown — But With Lots Of Changes For Visitors\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057777\">The shutdown of the federal government\u003c/a> has brought \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">the full or partial closure of many National Park Service sites\u003c/a> across California — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Muir Woods\u003c/a>, where visitors on Wednesday were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">met with locked gates\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm\">Alcatraz Island\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the closures have many people, especially curious about the state’s most visited national park, asking: “Is Yosemite National Park open right now?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quick answer is \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">yes, Yosemite is still open to the public\u003c/a>. But because of the shutdown, many federal employees who staff the park aren’t working. That means many buildings, facilities and resources aren’t currently available in Yosemite, in a way that could have real consequences for a person’s visit. Instead of being stopped and greeted by a park staffer at the Yosemite gates, you’ll now drive straight through. This means there’s nobody in those booths to collect your entry fee (\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fees.htm\">usually $35 per vehicle\u003c/a>) or to offer you guidance on your visit — including timely updates on weather conditions and any road closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such expert advice is helpful even for seasoned park-goers, and this is where the visitor centers \u003cem>outside\u003c/em> Yosemite really come in handy, said Kim Lawson, director of communications and content at the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau. “What we’re recommending is visitors to stop in the gateway communities as they come through,” Lawson said, especially since the Yosemite Welcome Center in Yosemite Valley will be closed during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"entry-title \">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/09/minority-student-funding-california/\">\u003cstrong>California Faces Steepest Cuts As Trump Ends Diversity Grants\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In a few weeks, over 100 colleges and universities across California will lose access to essential funding for tutoring, academic counseling and other support services aimed at helping Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students succeed in college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change comes after the U.S. Department of Education said last month that it was ending \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-ends-funding-racially-discriminatory-discretionary-grant-programs-minority-serving-institutions\">a grant program \u003c/a>that supports “minority-serving institutions,” claiming that it illegally favors certain racial or ethnic groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every state will lose money, but the Education Department’s decision hits California hardest. The state receives over a quarter of all of these diversity grants, since it has a high percentage of minority students, especially Latinos, and it has more college campuses than any other state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s community college system could lose $20 million next year as a result of the funding cuts, said Chris Ferguson, who supports finance and strategic relations at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. The Cal State University and the University of California systems, which also receive this money, did not respond to questions about the amount of funding at risk.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, October 3, 2025…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise remains California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history. The Northern California fire claimed the lives of 85 people. Now, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mynspr.org/news/2025-09-26/paradise-bus-driver-survivors-relive-camp-fire-escape-as-the-lost-bus-premieres-at-fires-epicenter\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a new movie\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> depicts the real-life heroic escape of one local bus driver. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yosemite National Park \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">remains open during the government shutdown\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but there won’t be many rangers there to help visitors.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The US Department of Education is ending several grant programs that support minority-serving institutions. Department officials say these programs are discriminatory. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/09/minority-student-funding-california/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California stands to lose more grant money \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">than any other state – for programs that support Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students on college campuses.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003cstrong>Paradise Bus Driver, Survivors Relive Camp Fire Escape As ‘The Lost Bus’ Premieres \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The Lost Bus” tells the story of a Paradise school bus driver and a teacher who helped 22 kids escape the Camp Fire in 2018. The fire killed 85 people and remains the most deadly and destructive in California’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the movie premiere last month, the film resonated in Chico and Oroville — two cities close to Paradise where many survivors relocated after the fire. Crowds packed into theaters to witness a film about their community’s experience. A line wrapped around The Pageant Theater in Chico, and Feather River Cinemas in Oroville also drew a full house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin McKay, the real-life bus driver at the heart of the film played by Matthew McConaughey, showed up to Feather River Cinemas with family and friends, many from Cal Fire. He told NSPR what it was like to watch his story on the big screen nearly seven years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s super surreal for me, being that the core storyline is about my life,” McKay said. “But at the same time, I’m a Camp Fire survivor, and so, honestly, there’s so many different ways that I connect to the film.” McKay said he hopes other survivors who see the movie feel seen and heard. He also hopes people leave with the message of “normal people, helping other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">\u003cstrong>Yosemite Is Open During The Shutdown — But With Lots Of Changes For Visitors\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057777\">The shutdown of the federal government\u003c/a> has brought \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">the full or partial closure of many National Park Service sites\u003c/a> across California — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Muir Woods\u003c/a>, where visitors on Wednesday were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">met with locked gates\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm\">Alcatraz Island\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the closures have many people, especially curious about the state’s most visited national park, asking: “Is Yosemite National Park open right now?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quick answer is \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">yes, Yosemite is still open to the public\u003c/a>. But because of the shutdown, many federal employees who staff the park aren’t working. That means many buildings, facilities and resources aren’t currently available in Yosemite, in a way that could have real consequences for a person’s visit. Instead of being stopped and greeted by a park staffer at the Yosemite gates, you’ll now drive straight through. This means there’s nobody in those booths to collect your entry fee (\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fees.htm\">usually $35 per vehicle\u003c/a>) or to offer you guidance on your visit — including timely updates on weather conditions and any road closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such expert advice is helpful even for seasoned park-goers, and this is where the visitor centers \u003cem>outside\u003c/em> Yosemite really come in handy, said Kim Lawson, director of communications and content at the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau. “What we’re recommending is visitors to stop in the gateway communities as they come through,” Lawson said, especially since the Yosemite Welcome Center in Yosemite Valley will be closed during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"entry-title \">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/09/minority-student-funding-california/\">\u003cstrong>California Faces Steepest Cuts As Trump Ends Diversity Grants\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In a few weeks, over 100 colleges and universities across California will lose access to essential funding for tutoring, academic counseling and other support services aimed at helping Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students succeed in college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change comes after the U.S. Department of Education said last month that it was ending \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-ends-funding-racially-discriminatory-discretionary-grant-programs-minority-serving-institutions\">a grant program \u003c/a>that supports “minority-serving institutions,” claiming that it illegally favors certain racial or ethnic groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every state will lose money, but the Education Department’s decision hits California hardest. The state receives over a quarter of all of these diversity grants, since it has a high percentage of minority students, especially Latinos, and it has more college campuses than any other state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s community college system could lose $20 million next year as a result of the funding cuts, said Chris Ferguson, who supports finance and strategic relations at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. The Cal State University and the University of California systems, which also receive this money, did not respond to questions about the amount of funding at risk.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "rebuilding-la-heres-what-fire-survivors-and-experts-say-is-key",
"title": "Rebuilding LA: Here's What Fire Survivors and Experts Say Is Key",
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"content": "\u003cp>Annie Barbour knows what it feels like to lose everything she worked for in an instant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home she bought in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood in 1989 was almost paid off. She had just started to make renovations to prepare it for her son and his wife to live there someday. Then it burned — along with \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/10/8/tubbs-fire-central-lnu-complex/\">more than 5,600 other structures\u003c/a> in the 2017 Tubbs Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she returned to the spot where her home once stood, all she could see was rubble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole place looked like a bomb had gone off,” she said. “You could see all the way through Coffey Park. No houses all the way to the railroad tracks. It was decimated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, there’s a one-story, taupe house with white eaves and a neatly trimmed front yard. Many of her neighbors’ homes have been rebuilt, as well. To the untrained eye, it might look like any other suburban neighborhood in the state, but most of the homes now have features designed to withstand wildfires to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barbour and her neighbors’ experiences with rebuilding offer lessons — backed by the latest research from architects and experts — for Southern Californians displaced by January’s wildfires, who are now just beginning to think about whether to rebuild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024077\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024077\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, fire survivors and neighbors, Annie Barbour, Ernest Chapman and Danielle Bryant in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Their homes burned down during the Tubbs Fire in 2017. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Barbour said she never considered not rebuilding her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were all in shock,” she said. “And it took us a bit to just get our feet on the ground. But I really felt propelled by my anxiety to move forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not every fire survivor can rebuild. A year after Barbour lost her home in Santa Rosa, the Camp Fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures in Paradise. Remaining residents have slowly built back some of those homes, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1209471739/a-california-town-wiped-off-the-map-by-wildfire-is-still-recovering-five-years-o\">600 a year\u003c/a>, but the city is significantly less populated than it was before the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, the cost to rebuild has only increased and most insurance companies have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906641/california-regulators-roll-out-plan-to-stabilize-home-insurance-market\">limited, or altogether stopped\u003c/a>, offering policies in certain areas with high fire-risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are looking at $10,000 to $20,000 a year for fire insurance, which doesn’t work for middle class Californians or those on a fixed income,” said Dr. Crystal Kolden with UC Merced’s Department of Engineering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for those who can and want to rebuild, fire experts say understanding how wildfires move and grow can help homeowners protect their house against the next one. That means reducing the fuels that feed fires, said Ian Giammanco, a researcher at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you think about a hurricane or tornado, they’re not getting more intense because they’ve destroyed a bunch of buildings, but a wildfire absolutely is when it turns into one of these conflagration events,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solution? Starve the fire of fuels by hardening homes, redesigning yards with fires in mind, and implementing neighborhood-scaled mitigation measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024073\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1345\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-800x538.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-1020x686.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-1536x1033.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-1920x1291.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Barbour’s former home where she raised her son, in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Annie’s home burned down during the Tubbs Fire in 2017. Since then, she has rebuilt her home to better protect it from wildfires, where her son and daughter-in-law now live. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Rebuilding a home with fire-resistant materials\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When homeowners consider hardening their homes against earthquakes or hurricanes, they have to consider its structural integrity. With wildfires, it’s all about the outside of the house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting from the top, Giammanco said an up-to-date roof can make a world of difference for a home’s chances of surviving a fire. A \u003ca href=\"https://surviving-wildfire.extension.org/fire-ratings-for-roofing-material/#:~:text=Class%20A%20is%20the%20highest,an%20untreated%20wood%20shake%20roof.\">“Class A” roof\u003c/a>, which can be made of asphalt and fiberglass, concrete, clay or other materials, is the most fire resistant and is often required \u003ca href=\"https://codes.iccsafe.org/s/CABC2022P1/chapter-15-roof-assemblies-and-rooftop-structures/CABC2022P1-Ch15-Sec1505.2\">by California’s building code\u003c/a> for new construction in fire-sensitive areas. Some homeowners may choose a metal roof, which can be more expensive than an asphalt one, but is slightly more durable than asphalt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below the roof, vents and eaves on the outside of the home can sometimes carry embers or hold debris, which can ignite inside or along a home. \u003ca href=\"https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/\">Cal Fire\u003c/a> recommends installing vents with metal mesh screens, which block the embers before they enter a home and will not immediately melt in the heat, along with closing eaves with similar, nonflammable materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024079\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024079\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Air vents constructed at Annie Barbour’s former home in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Moving down, the \u003ca href=\"https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/\">walls of a home\u003c/a> can also be built using stucco, concrete fiber board siding, or insulated concrete form, all of which are both less combustible and more energy efficient. These building materials are used to construct some homes today, but Giammanco said they would need to be adopted more broadly, especially in fire-prone areas, in order to achieve the scale needed to see them as the default option in homes across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of these materials are readily available today,” he said. “We are not asking for something new to be invented. We can take building materials we already know about that we already use and simply apply them in this way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lastly, Giammanco said it’s important to make sure the bottom of the house is not sitting on flammable material. The most critical part of the wall is the six inches between the ground and the home, which should be noncombustible, he said. Barbour’s home was rebuilt on a thick concrete slab, which holds the house slightly above the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024492\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024492\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bottom of Annie Barbour’s home sits on a concrete slab in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Concrete, which is naturally fire-proof, will protect the bottom of the home from fire damage. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Architect Brandon Jørgensen had recently finished a home in Napa, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/10/9/atlas-fire-southern-lnu-complex\">2017 Atlas Fire\u003c/a> started. The blaze, which broke out the same night as Santa Rosa’s Tubbs Fire, destroyed 783 structures and killed six people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home was built with a Class A roof, without gutters or vents where embers could collect and had walls made of stone and cedar. Each external wall had several inches of concrete and earthen berms — compacted dirt or gravel — at its base to protect them from embers that could collect there during a fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The house took on a large amount of embers and those embers collected in the dead spaces at the base of the walls,” he said. “And the house was undamaged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Landscaping makes a difference \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The next line of defense against a wildfire is the area immediately surrounding a home, what researchers call “\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace\">Zone Zero\u003c/a>.” This area should have \u003ca href=\"https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/zone-zero-mandates-near-completion-high-wildfire-risk-areas\">nothing combustible within it\u003c/a>. Imagine concrete sidewalks, beds of stone pebbles or gravel around the home instead of shrubs, wood mulch and wooden fences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Five feet around our homes — it’s the last place where things connect fire physically to our homes,” Giammanco said. “If we can make that noncombustible, we help break that chain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Mediterranean climate means some of the state’s vegetation is flammable and is adapted to fire, according to Kolden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the most common — and also most flammable — plants Kolden sees in Californians’ yards are Italian cypress trees and juniper shrubs. Italian cypress trees can burn down quickly and spread embers through the air, igniting whatever it lands on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1604312663660502\">Juniper trees\u003c/a>, when set on fire, can become a “Roman candle” and shower flames around it. As homeowners in Southern California rebuild, Kolden, a former firefighter, hopes they will rethink planting these trees near their homes and instead choose plants that are still aesthetically pleasing, but less flammable, like succulents or flower annuals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024491\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024491\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bed of pebbles line up the front yard of Annie Barbour’s former home in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Pebbles are not flammable. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before the Tubbs Fire, a wooden fence encircled Barbour’s home and acted as a wick, spreading the fire from house to house. Since then, Barbour has rebuilt much of that fence, but the last five feet — the part that touches her home — was replaced with a metal gate, which can stop the flame from reaching her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her neighbors still have wooden fences that touch their homes, but after seeing Barbour’s gate, some have asked her for quotes on how much it might cost to make that change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My home is paid off, I don’t need to lose it again, so I’ll do whatever I can do,” she said. “It would be really ridiculous for me to not set an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024074\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 5-foot metal gate which separates Annie Barbour’s former home from the neighbor’s home in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. The metal gate breaks the spread of a wildfire to the home. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But a house is still a home, and there are certain changes Barbour knows she needs to make to ensure hers is wildfire-resistant. Though, it doesn’t mean those changes are any less painful to enact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, a Japanese maple tree sits in her backyard, a gift a friend gave her after she rebuilt her home. Its branches and brightly colored leaves touch her home’s back wall, closest to the primary bedroom. She knows she will have to cut it down eventually, but she said it will hurt. She recently cut down a blooming wisteria vine on her boyfriend’s property to make it more fire-safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was beautiful, and he was like ‘I’ve trained that for years, it’s one of my happiest features when I come around in the garage, and it is draped around the porch,’” she said. “We finally came to a meeting of minds, and he stayed inside while I hacked it down. It was very hard for him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Building back your community\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many homes in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu that were destroyed in the fires were in an area fire experts call the “wildland-urban interface,” or WUI. \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace\">According to Cal Fire\u003c/a>, one of the most effective ways to mitigate wildfires is to create a large “defensible space” of clean, noncombustible materials 100 feet around a home.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"science_1965575,news_12023793, science_12022615,news_12015150,news_12021019\"] The homes rebuilt there should not only use wildfire-focused building codes to ensure it can meaningfully resist fire, Giammanco said, but should be spaced farther apart from each other, especially if they are within 10 feet of their neighbor’s house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key is to make sure the outer ring of structures that butt up against where the wildfire is going to enter that community have as much protection as we can give them,” he said. “It allows us to use almost a perimeter defense working our way inward where we could allow dense construction because we’ve got really good provisions and protections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Coffey Park, a cement wall runs along the back of Barbour’s property and the other homes along her street, which is parallel to a busy thoroughfare. This type of wall is commonplace in suburbs across the country. California has spent more than any other state — over \u003ca href=\"https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/noise/noise_barriers/inventory/graphs/graph01.cfm\">$1 billion since 1963\u003c/a> — to construct these walls, which block sound pollution from highways and busy roads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the fire, Coffey Park’s wall had a wooden beam running along the top of it, which spread the flames across the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024478\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024478\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A hopper wall, seen from Annie Barbour’s former home, built to block out the sound from the busy road, is also fire-resistant, on Jan. 23, 2025. In the inside of the wall is a metal cage with styrofoam inside, supported by rebar and cement, then covered with concrete which makes the wall more fire-resistant than a simple concrete wall. Right: A hopper wall along Hopper St. in Santa Rosa, built to block out the sound from the busy road, is also fire-resistant, on Jan. 23, 2025. In the inside of the wall is a metal cage with styrofoam inside, supported by rebar and cement, then covered with concrete which makes the wall more fire-resistant than a simple concrete wall. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But these walls, if constructed with fire resistant materials, can also act as a barrier against oncoming flames. Coffey Park’s wall was rebuilt with styrofoam supported by rebar and cement, encased in a metal cage and concrete. Those materials, assembled by the building company\u003ca href=\"https://www.rsg3d.com/\"> RSG-3\u003c/a>, make the wall more fire resistant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As California, and the rest of the world, grapples with the increasingly damaging impacts of climate change, Kolden said the state cannot afford to design its cities the same way it has for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are places that were predominantly built during an era of really different approaches to building communities — more suburban tracts of cookie-cutter housing was the norm,” she said. “What Altadena and Pacific Palisades have right now is an opportunity to say, ‘Alright, we have a blank slate with a lot of stakeholders, and every parcel owner is a stakeholder in the future.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The L.A. fires destroyed nearly 12,000 homes so far. As the city rebuilds, what design factors should be considered so that homes can better withstand wildfires and other natural disasters in the face of climate change? ",
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"title": "Rebuilding LA: Here's What Fire Survivors and Experts Say Is Key | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Annie Barbour knows what it feels like to lose everything she worked for in an instant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home she bought in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood in 1989 was almost paid off. She had just started to make renovations to prepare it for her son and his wife to live there someday. Then it burned — along with \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/10/8/tubbs-fire-central-lnu-complex/\">more than 5,600 other structures\u003c/a> in the 2017 Tubbs Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she returned to the spot where her home once stood, all she could see was rubble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole place looked like a bomb had gone off,” she said. “You could see all the way through Coffey Park. No houses all the way to the railroad tracks. It was decimated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, there’s a one-story, taupe house with white eaves and a neatly trimmed front yard. Many of her neighbors’ homes have been rebuilt, as well. To the untrained eye, it might look like any other suburban neighborhood in the state, but most of the homes now have features designed to withstand wildfires to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barbour and her neighbors’ experiences with rebuilding offer lessons — backed by the latest research from architects and experts — for Southern Californians displaced by January’s wildfires, who are now just beginning to think about whether to rebuild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024077\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024077\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-29-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, fire survivors and neighbors, Annie Barbour, Ernest Chapman and Danielle Bryant in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Their homes burned down during the Tubbs Fire in 2017. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Barbour said she never considered not rebuilding her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were all in shock,” she said. “And it took us a bit to just get our feet on the ground. But I really felt propelled by my anxiety to move forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not every fire survivor can rebuild. A year after Barbour lost her home in Santa Rosa, the Camp Fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures in Paradise. Remaining residents have slowly built back some of those homes, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1209471739/a-california-town-wiped-off-the-map-by-wildfire-is-still-recovering-five-years-o\">600 a year\u003c/a>, but the city is significantly less populated than it was before the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, the cost to rebuild has only increased and most insurance companies have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906641/california-regulators-roll-out-plan-to-stabilize-home-insurance-market\">limited, or altogether stopped\u003c/a>, offering policies in certain areas with high fire-risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are looking at $10,000 to $20,000 a year for fire insurance, which doesn’t work for middle class Californians or those on a fixed income,” said Dr. Crystal Kolden with UC Merced’s Department of Engineering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for those who can and want to rebuild, fire experts say understanding how wildfires move and grow can help homeowners protect their house against the next one. That means reducing the fuels that feed fires, said Ian Giammanco, a researcher at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you think about a hurricane or tornado, they’re not getting more intense because they’ve destroyed a bunch of buildings, but a wildfire absolutely is when it turns into one of these conflagration events,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solution? Starve the fire of fuels by hardening homes, redesigning yards with fires in mind, and implementing neighborhood-scaled mitigation measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024073\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1345\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-800x538.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-1020x686.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-1536x1033.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-4-1920x1291.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Barbour’s former home where she raised her son, in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Annie’s home burned down during the Tubbs Fire in 2017. Since then, she has rebuilt her home to better protect it from wildfires, where her son and daughter-in-law now live. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Rebuilding a home with fire-resistant materials\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When homeowners consider hardening their homes against earthquakes or hurricanes, they have to consider its structural integrity. With wildfires, it’s all about the outside of the house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting from the top, Giammanco said an up-to-date roof can make a world of difference for a home’s chances of surviving a fire. A \u003ca href=\"https://surviving-wildfire.extension.org/fire-ratings-for-roofing-material/#:~:text=Class%20A%20is%20the%20highest,an%20untreated%20wood%20shake%20roof.\">“Class A” roof\u003c/a>, which can be made of asphalt and fiberglass, concrete, clay or other materials, is the most fire resistant and is often required \u003ca href=\"https://codes.iccsafe.org/s/CABC2022P1/chapter-15-roof-assemblies-and-rooftop-structures/CABC2022P1-Ch15-Sec1505.2\">by California’s building code\u003c/a> for new construction in fire-sensitive areas. Some homeowners may choose a metal roof, which can be more expensive than an asphalt one, but is slightly more durable than asphalt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below the roof, vents and eaves on the outside of the home can sometimes carry embers or hold debris, which can ignite inside or along a home. \u003ca href=\"https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/\">Cal Fire\u003c/a> recommends installing vents with metal mesh screens, which block the embers before they enter a home and will not immediately melt in the heat, along with closing eaves with similar, nonflammable materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024079\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024079\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-33-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Air vents constructed at Annie Barbour’s former home in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Moving down, the \u003ca href=\"https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/\">walls of a home\u003c/a> can also be built using stucco, concrete fiber board siding, or insulated concrete form, all of which are both less combustible and more energy efficient. These building materials are used to construct some homes today, but Giammanco said they would need to be adopted more broadly, especially in fire-prone areas, in order to achieve the scale needed to see them as the default option in homes across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of these materials are readily available today,” he said. “We are not asking for something new to be invented. We can take building materials we already know about that we already use and simply apply them in this way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lastly, Giammanco said it’s important to make sure the bottom of the house is not sitting on flammable material. The most critical part of the wall is the six inches between the ground and the home, which should be noncombustible, he said. Barbour’s home was rebuilt on a thick concrete slab, which holds the house slightly above the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024492\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024492\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-2-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bottom of Annie Barbour’s home sits on a concrete slab in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Concrete, which is naturally fire-proof, will protect the bottom of the home from fire damage. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Architect Brandon Jørgensen had recently finished a home in Napa, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/10/9/atlas-fire-southern-lnu-complex\">2017 Atlas Fire\u003c/a> started. The blaze, which broke out the same night as Santa Rosa’s Tubbs Fire, destroyed 783 structures and killed six people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home was built with a Class A roof, without gutters or vents where embers could collect and had walls made of stone and cedar. Each external wall had several inches of concrete and earthen berms — compacted dirt or gravel — at its base to protect them from embers that could collect there during a fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The house took on a large amount of embers and those embers collected in the dead spaces at the base of the walls,” he said. “And the house was undamaged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Landscaping makes a difference \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The next line of defense against a wildfire is the area immediately surrounding a home, what researchers call “\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace\">Zone Zero\u003c/a>.” This area should have \u003ca href=\"https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/zone-zero-mandates-near-completion-high-wildfire-risk-areas\">nothing combustible within it\u003c/a>. Imagine concrete sidewalks, beds of stone pebbles or gravel around the home instead of shrubs, wood mulch and wooden fences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Five feet around our homes — it’s the last place where things connect fire physically to our homes,” Giammanco said. “If we can make that noncombustible, we help break that chain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Mediterranean climate means some of the state’s vegetation is flammable and is adapted to fire, according to Kolden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the most common — and also most flammable — plants Kolden sees in Californians’ yards are Italian cypress trees and juniper shrubs. Italian cypress trees can burn down quickly and spread embers through the air, igniting whatever it lands on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1604312663660502\">Juniper trees\u003c/a>, when set on fire, can become a “Roman candle” and shower flames around it. As homeowners in Southern California rebuild, Kolden, a former firefighter, hopes they will rethink planting these trees near their homes and instead choose plants that are still aesthetically pleasing, but less flammable, like succulents or flower annuals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024491\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024491\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/download-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bed of pebbles line up the front yard of Annie Barbour’s former home in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. Pebbles are not flammable. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before the Tubbs Fire, a wooden fence encircled Barbour’s home and acted as a wick, spreading the fire from house to house. Since then, Barbour has rebuilt much of that fence, but the last five feet — the part that touches her home — was replaced with a metal gate, which can stop the flame from reaching her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her neighbors still have wooden fences that touch their homes, but after seeing Barbour’s gate, some have asked her for quotes on how much it might cost to make that change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My home is paid off, I don’t need to lose it again, so I’ll do whatever I can do,” she said. “It would be really ridiculous for me to not set an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024074\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250123_RebuildingAfterWildfire_GC-13-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 5-foot metal gate which separates Annie Barbour’s former home from the neighbor’s home in Santa Rosa on Jan. 23, 2025. The metal gate breaks the spread of a wildfire to the home. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But a house is still a home, and there are certain changes Barbour knows she needs to make to ensure hers is wildfire-resistant. Though, it doesn’t mean those changes are any less painful to enact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, a Japanese maple tree sits in her backyard, a gift a friend gave her after she rebuilt her home. Its branches and brightly colored leaves touch her home’s back wall, closest to the primary bedroom. She knows she will have to cut it down eventually, but she said it will hurt. She recently cut down a blooming wisteria vine on her boyfriend’s property to make it more fire-safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was beautiful, and he was like ‘I’ve trained that for years, it’s one of my happiest features when I come around in the garage, and it is draped around the porch,’” she said. “We finally came to a meeting of minds, and he stayed inside while I hacked it down. It was very hard for him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Building back your community\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many homes in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu that were destroyed in the fires were in an area fire experts call the “wildland-urban interface,” or WUI. \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace\">According to Cal Fire\u003c/a>, one of the most effective ways to mitigate wildfires is to create a large “defensible space” of clean, noncombustible materials 100 feet around a home.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> The homes rebuilt there should not only use wildfire-focused building codes to ensure it can meaningfully resist fire, Giammanco said, but should be spaced farther apart from each other, especially if they are within 10 feet of their neighbor’s house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key is to make sure the outer ring of structures that butt up against where the wildfire is going to enter that community have as much protection as we can give them,” he said. “It allows us to use almost a perimeter defense working our way inward where we could allow dense construction because we’ve got really good provisions and protections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Coffey Park, a cement wall runs along the back of Barbour’s property and the other homes along her street, which is parallel to a busy thoroughfare. This type of wall is commonplace in suburbs across the country. California has spent more than any other state — over \u003ca href=\"https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/noise/noise_barriers/inventory/graphs/graph01.cfm\">$1 billion since 1963\u003c/a> — to construct these walls, which block sound pollution from highways and busy roads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the fire, Coffey Park’s wall had a wooden beam running along the top of it, which spread the flames across the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024478\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024478\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image_2-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A hopper wall, seen from Annie Barbour’s former home, built to block out the sound from the busy road, is also fire-resistant, on Jan. 23, 2025. In the inside of the wall is a metal cage with styrofoam inside, supported by rebar and cement, then covered with concrete which makes the wall more fire-resistant than a simple concrete wall. Right: A hopper wall along Hopper St. in Santa Rosa, built to block out the sound from the busy road, is also fire-resistant, on Jan. 23, 2025. In the inside of the wall is a metal cage with styrofoam inside, supported by rebar and cement, then covered with concrete which makes the wall more fire-resistant than a simple concrete wall. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But these walls, if constructed with fire resistant materials, can also act as a barrier against oncoming flames. Coffey Park’s wall was rebuilt with styrofoam supported by rebar and cement, encased in a metal cage and concrete. Those materials, assembled by the building company\u003ca href=\"https://www.rsg3d.com/\"> RSG-3\u003c/a>, make the wall more fire resistant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As California, and the rest of the world, grapples with the increasingly damaging impacts of climate change, Kolden said the state cannot afford to design its cities the same way it has for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are places that were predominantly built during an era of really different approaches to building communities — more suburban tracts of cookie-cutter housing was the norm,” she said. “What Altadena and Pacific Palisades have right now is an opportunity to say, ‘Alright, we have a blank slate with a lot of stakeholders, and every parcel owner is a stakeholder in the future.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Will New Bond Funds Be Enough to Rebuild LA Schools — and All of California’s Other Crumbling Schools?",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’ll be a while before Los Angeles can fully assess the damage to its schools from this recent spate of fires, but a few things already seem certain: rebuilding will take a long time, it will be expensive, and it may sap the statewide fund for school repairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least a dozen schools in the Los Angeles area have been damaged in the fires, including at least five that were destroyed completely. Thousands of students and school staff have lost their homes, and countless families are grappling with major disruptions to their day-to-day lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pain of being evacuated, losing your home, or having family and friends who have been impacted. … it’s just so devastating,” said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. “At so many districts in our county, the superintendent themselves has been evacuated, or 50% of the staff has been evacuated. And meanwhile they’re all trying to help their students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Pacific Palisades, fires destroyed two elementary schools and extensively damaged Palisades Charter High School. Fires in Pasadena and Altadena destroyed three elementary schools. Several others in greater Los Angeles remain closed because they’re in evacuation zones or have been damaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students at those schools have been reassigned to other campuses, are learning online or are waiting for conditions to improve so they can return to class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many students, it will be a long wait. Even with loosened regulations, rebuilding a school could take years as officials piece together a hodgepodge of funding sources: insurance money, private grants and donations, local bonds, lawsuit settlement money and state and federal funds. Some districts will have plenty of funding options, while others will struggle to find enough revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, some will have immediate expenses such as procuring portable classrooms and hiring mental health counselors to help students, staff and families cope with trauma. Large districts such as Los Angeles Unified can reallocate resources quickly, but smaller districts and charter and private schools face more obstacles.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Big demand for Proposition 2 \u003cstrong>funds\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Proposition 2, the $10 billion school construction bond approved by voters in November, will be a big help for schools that need to rebuild or make costly repairs, or even buy portables.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state allocates the money to schools with the highest need, and then on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s already a big backlog of schools that have applied for money, and it’s likely that schools gutted by fire will get priority over those with less urgent needs, said Rebekah Kalleen, a legislative advocate for the Coalition for Adequate School Housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means some schools will miss out. Because California’s fund for school repairs had been empty for a while, there’s a long list of schools with critical repair needs. Throughout the state, students are attending schools with leaky roofs, lead pipes, unsafe electrical systems and broken air conditioning. Schools in lower-income and rural areas are most affected, because they have less ability to raise money through local bonds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helio Brasil, superintendent of Keyes Union School District south of Modesto, said he has empathy for those dealing with buildings destroyed or damaged by the fires in Los Angeles, but he worries about \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2023/11/school-construction-2/\">his own district’s needs\u003c/a>. The 1,000-student district, which primarily serves lower-income students whose parents work in the nearby agricultural fields, desperately needs money to replace the 40-year-old roof, upgrade the electric wiring and make other safety improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a growing concern that Prop. 2 funds will be quickly depleted, leaving smaller districts like Keyes struggling to address our own long-term facility needs,” Brasil wrote in an email. “We understand the moral imperative to support the devastated districts first, but the reality is that districts like ours cannot be left behind in the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brasil and other superintendents are asking for the state to balance the needs of schools affected by fires with those that aren’t, and provide extra money if possible. Gov. Gavin Newsom last week promised to chip in an extra $1 million from the state’s general fund for schools damaged by fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Like a bomb had gone off’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The post-fire experience in Sonoma and Butte counties provides a preview of what lies ahead in Los Angeles. Thousands of homes and numerous schools were destroyed in a spate of fires from 2017–20, leaving residents to resurrect entire communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those first few weeks were surreal, almost primordial. It was like a bomb had gone off,” said Andrew Bailey, head of Anova Center for Education, a private school in Sonoma County that serves special education students enrolled in public schools. Anova was destroyed in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, leaving its 125 students without a campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was no school at all for three weeks while staff hunted for classroom space at other locations. Eventually they brought in portables and launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to pay for a new school. Last week, the new school finally opened — more than seven years after the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was miraculous that we were able to do this,” Bailey said. “It was incredibly hard work, but now the headwinds have dissipated and our kids now have a great new school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Attending school at a hardware store\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In Paradise, a Butte County town which was nearly entirely destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, the school district is still recovering. Four school sites were destroyed and nine were extensively damaged. A big obstacle in rebuilding, school officials said, was not knowing how many students to expect. More than 80% of the town burned down, and it was unclear how many residents planned to move back. Enrollment in Paradise Unified dropped from 3,500 before the fire to 1,500 in 2019. It’s now up to 1,700.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the state was helpful, the paperwork and funding process took time, Superintendent Tom Taylor said. Meanwhile, students attended school any place officials could find space: other school districts, some 20 miles away; warehouses; even a hardware store. (The store was cleared of merchandise. Students ate lunch at the check-out counter.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district has so far spent $155 million to rebuild campuses, but needs $150 million more to fix everything that needs fixing, Taylor said. The district is hoping to break ground on Paradise Elementary School, one of the schools that was completely destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were a few years where all staff worked harder than we ever have. Long days, seven days a week, no time off,” Taylor said. “We’re still not done. … But our staff understands that schools are the center of a community, and we want our schools to help lead the return of the town.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Prioritizing mental health\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In some ways, Los Angeles schools will have it a bit easier than those in Sonoma and Butte. The state now has well-established disaster relief protocols, and there are plenty of experts who can advise. Because of COVID-19, most schools already have distance learning systems in place and robust social-emotional support for students.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_12023695,news_12022439,news_12021941\"]Support for mental health — for staff as well as students — is a crucial piece of recovery, school officials in Sonoma and Butte said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sonoma County, schools learned early on how to screen students for anxiety. They also created partnerships with local nonprofits and health clinics, and the County Office of Education trained teachers to lead class discussions and otherwise support students who felt traumatized by the fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In situations like this, you’re never going to have enough money for one-to-one counseling for everyone who needs it,” said Mary Champion, a school psychologist with the Sonoma County Office of Education. “That’s why it’s so important to train educators, to take some of the pressure off clinicians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyson Dickinson, director of the office’s Department of Behavioral Health and Well-Being, said districts in Los Angeles should expect the recovery process — beyond the replacement of buildings — to take a long time. Sonoma County’s last major fire was in 2020, and it’s still never far from residents’ minds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any time it’s windy, warm and dry, any time there’s smoke, you can see the stress building,” Dickinson said. “From August through January everyone is on edge. It’s just a different world now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Some schools destroyed years ago in the Sonoma and Butte fires are just now reopening. The long, costly process of rebuilding in LA may eat up much of the money California voters approved in November for school repairs.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’ll be a while before Los Angeles can fully assess the damage to its schools from this recent spate of fires, but a few things already seem certain: rebuilding will take a long time, it will be expensive, and it may sap the statewide fund for school repairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least a dozen schools in the Los Angeles area have been damaged in the fires, including at least five that were destroyed completely. Thousands of students and school staff have lost their homes, and countless families are grappling with major disruptions to their day-to-day lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pain of being evacuated, losing your home, or having family and friends who have been impacted. … it’s just so devastating,” said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. “At so many districts in our county, the superintendent themselves has been evacuated, or 50% of the staff has been evacuated. And meanwhile they’re all trying to help their students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Pacific Palisades, fires destroyed two elementary schools and extensively damaged Palisades Charter High School. Fires in Pasadena and Altadena destroyed three elementary schools. Several others in greater Los Angeles remain closed because they’re in evacuation zones or have been damaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students at those schools have been reassigned to other campuses, are learning online or are waiting for conditions to improve so they can return to class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many students, it will be a long wait. Even with loosened regulations, rebuilding a school could take years as officials piece together a hodgepodge of funding sources: insurance money, private grants and donations, local bonds, lawsuit settlement money and state and federal funds. Some districts will have plenty of funding options, while others will struggle to find enough revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, some will have immediate expenses such as procuring portable classrooms and hiring mental health counselors to help students, staff and families cope with trauma. Large districts such as Los Angeles Unified can reallocate resources quickly, but smaller districts and charter and private schools face more obstacles.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Big demand for Proposition 2 \u003cstrong>funds\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Proposition 2, the $10 billion school construction bond approved by voters in November, will be a big help for schools that need to rebuild or make costly repairs, or even buy portables.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state allocates the money to schools with the highest need, and then on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s already a big backlog of schools that have applied for money, and it’s likely that schools gutted by fire will get priority over those with less urgent needs, said Rebekah Kalleen, a legislative advocate for the Coalition for Adequate School Housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means some schools will miss out. Because California’s fund for school repairs had been empty for a while, there’s a long list of schools with critical repair needs. Throughout the state, students are attending schools with leaky roofs, lead pipes, unsafe electrical systems and broken air conditioning. Schools in lower-income and rural areas are most affected, because they have less ability to raise money through local bonds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helio Brasil, superintendent of Keyes Union School District south of Modesto, said he has empathy for those dealing with buildings destroyed or damaged by the fires in Los Angeles, but he worries about \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2023/11/school-construction-2/\">his own district’s needs\u003c/a>. The 1,000-student district, which primarily serves lower-income students whose parents work in the nearby agricultural fields, desperately needs money to replace the 40-year-old roof, upgrade the electric wiring and make other safety improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a growing concern that Prop. 2 funds will be quickly depleted, leaving smaller districts like Keyes struggling to address our own long-term facility needs,” Brasil wrote in an email. “We understand the moral imperative to support the devastated districts first, but the reality is that districts like ours cannot be left behind in the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brasil and other superintendents are asking for the state to balance the needs of schools affected by fires with those that aren’t, and provide extra money if possible. Gov. Gavin Newsom last week promised to chip in an extra $1 million from the state’s general fund for schools damaged by fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Like a bomb had gone off’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The post-fire experience in Sonoma and Butte counties provides a preview of what lies ahead in Los Angeles. Thousands of homes and numerous schools were destroyed in a spate of fires from 2017–20, leaving residents to resurrect entire communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those first few weeks were surreal, almost primordial. It was like a bomb had gone off,” said Andrew Bailey, head of Anova Center for Education, a private school in Sonoma County that serves special education students enrolled in public schools. Anova was destroyed in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, leaving its 125 students without a campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was no school at all for three weeks while staff hunted for classroom space at other locations. Eventually they brought in portables and launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to pay for a new school. Last week, the new school finally opened — more than seven years after the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was miraculous that we were able to do this,” Bailey said. “It was incredibly hard work, but now the headwinds have dissipated and our kids now have a great new school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Attending school at a hardware store\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In Paradise, a Butte County town which was nearly entirely destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, the school district is still recovering. Four school sites were destroyed and nine were extensively damaged. A big obstacle in rebuilding, school officials said, was not knowing how many students to expect. More than 80% of the town burned down, and it was unclear how many residents planned to move back. Enrollment in Paradise Unified dropped from 3,500 before the fire to 1,500 in 2019. It’s now up to 1,700.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the state was helpful, the paperwork and funding process took time, Superintendent Tom Taylor said. Meanwhile, students attended school any place officials could find space: other school districts, some 20 miles away; warehouses; even a hardware store. (The store was cleared of merchandise. Students ate lunch at the check-out counter.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district has so far spent $155 million to rebuild campuses, but needs $150 million more to fix everything that needs fixing, Taylor said. The district is hoping to break ground on Paradise Elementary School, one of the schools that was completely destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were a few years where all staff worked harder than we ever have. Long days, seven days a week, no time off,” Taylor said. “We’re still not done. … But our staff understands that schools are the center of a community, and we want our schools to help lead the return of the town.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Prioritizing mental health\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In some ways, Los Angeles schools will have it a bit easier than those in Sonoma and Butte. The state now has well-established disaster relief protocols, and there are plenty of experts who can advise. Because of COVID-19, most schools already have distance learning systems in place and robust social-emotional support for students.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Support for mental health — for staff as well as students — is a crucial piece of recovery, school officials in Sonoma and Butte said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sonoma County, schools learned early on how to screen students for anxiety. They also created partnerships with local nonprofits and health clinics, and the County Office of Education trained teachers to lead class discussions and otherwise support students who felt traumatized by the fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In situations like this, you’re never going to have enough money for one-to-one counseling for everyone who needs it,” said Mary Champion, a school psychologist with the Sonoma County Office of Education. “That’s why it’s so important to train educators, to take some of the pressure off clinicians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyson Dickinson, director of the office’s Department of Behavioral Health and Well-Being, said districts in Los Angeles should expect the recovery process — beyond the replacement of buildings — to take a long time. Sonoma County’s last major fire was in 2020, and it’s still never far from residents’ minds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any time it’s windy, warm and dry, any time there’s smoke, you can see the stress building,” Dickinson said. “From August through January everyone is on edge. It’s just a different world now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, July 29, 2024…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Northern California, the massive Park Fire is now the state’s sixth largest fire on record. The fire \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997697/gov-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-as-park-fire-swiftly-grows\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">has burned more than 368,000 acres\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and is affecting four different counties – Tehama, Butte, Plumas and Shasta. Crews were able to take advantage of better weather conditions on Saturday, as containment stands at 12%. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The anxiety continues for people who live in Paradise. The town, which was destroyed by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11785247/a-year-after-the-camp-fire-locals-are-rebuilding-paradise\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Camp Fire in 2018\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, is under an evacuation warning because of the Park Fire.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Another major wildfire is scorching Kern County. The Borel Fire has burned 50,000 acres. It \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2024-07-28/borel-fire-town-of-havilah-survived-a-fire-before-historical-society-president-says\">tore through the historic town of Havilah\u003c/a> over the weekend.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Park Fire Now Sixth Largest Wildfire In CA History\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire has now burned 368,256 acres, making it one of the largest wildfires ever recorded in state history. Crews were able to take advantage of favorable weather conditions on Saturday, so the fire is now 12% contained. But hot spots continue to pop up along the fire line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several communities remain evacuated and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997697/gov-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-as-park-fire-swiftly-grows\">some residents still don’t know whether they’ll have a home to return to when they’re allowed back.\u003c/a> Larry Jansen, a Cohasset resident, lost his home and made it out just an hour before the fire went over the road and closed the way out. “Our place is gone, burnt. Totally gone. And our whole area burned up,” he said, at Chico farmers market, where community members are coming together to support those who have been evacuated. “Friends are taking care of us right now … It’s a clean slate ahead. Nothing to worry about right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenneth Gaines evacuated his farm in Payne’s Creek in Tehama County Friday night, and relocated to Dales. He said he saw flames jump the highway less than a mile from his gate. “I just got my wallet and my phone and a couple of other things,” said Gaines. “I didn’t realize it was that close. … I stayed through the Ponderosa Fire, but this is a much bigger fire, it’s moving a lot faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials said \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jglCH_hFvCQ\">at a briefing Sunday\u003c/a> that they’re working to lower some evacuation orders to warnings, but they’re doing so cautiously, with fire activity still so uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997526/huge-wildfire-stirs-up-pain-in-fire-weary-butte-county-and-fury-toward-alleged-arsonist\">\u003cb>For Paradise Residents, Park Fire Stirs Up Painful Memories \u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For people living in Paradise, the Park Fire has brought up memories of the devastating and deadly Camp Fire. The fire in 2018 remains \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11785247/a-year-after-the-camp-fire-locals-are-rebuilding-paradise\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the deadliest and most destructive wildfire\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in California history. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We still have the warning in place, and we’re saying be ready if you feel uncomfortable, go ahead and evacuate,” Paradise Mayor Ronald Lassonde told KQED on Saturday. “There’s a large percentage of our population that actually drove through the flames. Someone ran through the flames. So, of course, that trauma stays with you.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The community remains under an evacuation warning, although Lassonde said he’s hopeful that will be lifted soon, with most of the fire activity up to the north.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2024-07-28/borel-fire-town-of-havilah-survived-a-fire-before-historical-society-president-says\">Kern County Town Of Havilah Destroyed By Explosive Borel Fire\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Borel Fire burning in the Kern County mountains since last Wednesday grew to 50,000 acres by Sunday night after destroying the small gold-mining town of Havilah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire is 0% contained, and has led to the evacuation of 2,300 residents — with evacuation warnings and orders being expanded throughout the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire hit an area of green brush which helped give crews a break from extreme fire behavior that was aided as the fire burned \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2024-07-27/borel-fire-fire-sweeps-through-tiny-town-of-havilah-in-kern-county-evacuations-grow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">along dry fuels\u003c/a> days earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Havilah is a historic mining town that was founded in the 1860’s. The town served as county seat in 1866 when Kern County was formed. It’s also designated as a California historical landmark.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Here are the morning's top stories on Monday, July 29, 2024… In Northern California, the massive Park Fire is now the state's sixth largest fire on record. The fire has burned more than 368,000 acres and is affecting four different counties – Tehama, Butte, Plumas and Shasta. Crews were able to take advantage of better weather conditions on Saturday, as containment stands at 12%. The anxiety continues for people who live in Paradise. The town, which was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018, is under an evacuation warning because of the Park Fire. Another major wildfire is scorching Kern",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, July 29, 2024…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Northern California, the massive Park Fire is now the state’s sixth largest fire on record. The fire \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997697/gov-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-as-park-fire-swiftly-grows\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">has burned more than 368,000 acres\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and is affecting four different counties – Tehama, Butte, Plumas and Shasta. Crews were able to take advantage of better weather conditions on Saturday, as containment stands at 12%. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The anxiety continues for people who live in Paradise. The town, which was destroyed by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11785247/a-year-after-the-camp-fire-locals-are-rebuilding-paradise\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Camp Fire in 2018\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, is under an evacuation warning because of the Park Fire.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Another major wildfire is scorching Kern County. The Borel Fire has burned 50,000 acres. It \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2024-07-28/borel-fire-town-of-havilah-survived-a-fire-before-historical-society-president-says\">tore through the historic town of Havilah\u003c/a> over the weekend.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Park Fire Now Sixth Largest Wildfire In CA History\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Park Fire has now burned 368,256 acres, making it one of the largest wildfires ever recorded in state history. Crews were able to take advantage of favorable weather conditions on Saturday, so the fire is now 12% contained. But hot spots continue to pop up along the fire line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several communities remain evacuated and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997697/gov-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-as-park-fire-swiftly-grows\">some residents still don’t know whether they’ll have a home to return to when they’re allowed back.\u003c/a> Larry Jansen, a Cohasset resident, lost his home and made it out just an hour before the fire went over the road and closed the way out. “Our place is gone, burnt. Totally gone. And our whole area burned up,” he said, at Chico farmers market, where community members are coming together to support those who have been evacuated. “Friends are taking care of us right now … It’s a clean slate ahead. Nothing to worry about right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenneth Gaines evacuated his farm in Payne’s Creek in Tehama County Friday night, and relocated to Dales. He said he saw flames jump the highway less than a mile from his gate. “I just got my wallet and my phone and a couple of other things,” said Gaines. “I didn’t realize it was that close. … I stayed through the Ponderosa Fire, but this is a much bigger fire, it’s moving a lot faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials said \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jglCH_hFvCQ\">at a briefing Sunday\u003c/a> that they’re working to lower some evacuation orders to warnings, but they’re doing so cautiously, with fire activity still so uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997526/huge-wildfire-stirs-up-pain-in-fire-weary-butte-county-and-fury-toward-alleged-arsonist\">\u003cb>For Paradise Residents, Park Fire Stirs Up Painful Memories \u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For people living in Paradise, the Park Fire has brought up memories of the devastating and deadly Camp Fire. The fire in 2018 remains \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11785247/a-year-after-the-camp-fire-locals-are-rebuilding-paradise\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the deadliest and most destructive wildfire\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in California history. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We still have the warning in place, and we’re saying be ready if you feel uncomfortable, go ahead and evacuate,” Paradise Mayor Ronald Lassonde told KQED on Saturday. “There’s a large percentage of our population that actually drove through the flames. Someone ran through the flames. So, of course, that trauma stays with you.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The community remains under an evacuation warning, although Lassonde said he’s hopeful that will be lifted soon, with most of the fire activity up to the north.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2024-07-28/borel-fire-town-of-havilah-survived-a-fire-before-historical-society-president-says\">Kern County Town Of Havilah Destroyed By Explosive Borel Fire\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Borel Fire burning in the Kern County mountains since last Wednesday grew to 50,000 acres by Sunday night after destroying the small gold-mining town of Havilah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire is 0% contained, and has led to the evacuation of 2,300 residents — with evacuation warnings and orders being expanded throughout the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire hit an area of green brush which helped give crews a break from extreme fire behavior that was aided as the fire burned \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2024-07-27/borel-fire-fire-sweeps-through-tiny-town-of-havilah-in-kern-county-evacuations-grow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">along dry fuels\u003c/a> days earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Havilah is a historic mining town that was founded in the 1860’s. The town served as county seat in 1866 when Kern County was formed. It’s also designated as a California historical landmark.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>PG&E has completed five years of criminal probation despite worries that the nation’s largest utility remains too dangerous to trust after years of devastation from wildfires sparked by its equipment and linked to neglectful management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The probation, which expired at midnight Tuesday, was intended to rehabilitate PG&E and improve its safety practices after its 2016 conviction arising from the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, PG&E has been found responsible year after year for igniting catastrophic wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"U.S. District Judge William Alsup\"]‘In these five years, PG&E has gone on a crime spree and will emerge from probation as a continuing menace to California.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those include several in the North Bay in 2017; the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County that nearly wiped out the town of Paradise and nearby communities; the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County; the 2020 Zogg Fire in Shasta County, which killed four people; and last year’s Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 1 million acres of northern Sierra Nevada forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All told, fires the company started while on probation have killed 111 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In these five years, PG&E has gone on a crime spree and will emerge from probation as a continuing menace to California,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote in \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21182427/final-comments-of-district-court-upon-expiration-of-pges-probation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a report last week\u003c/a> reviewing his oversight of the utility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have tried hard to rehabilitate PG&E,” Alsup wrote. “As the supervising district judge, however, I must acknowledge failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alsup declined an interview request from The Associated Press to elaborate on his concerns about PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E faces more criminal charges for both the Kincade and Zogg fires. Butte County prosecutors are now determining whether to charge the company with arson in the Dixie Fire, a decision due by July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s conduct prompted its court-appointed monitor to raise alarms about the utility’s wildfire prevention efforts in \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21190278/usavpge-monitorreport-211123.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a final report filed in November\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the monitor’s report applauded significant improvements to the company’s natural gas operations, it raised serious concerns about the company’s poor record of wildfire safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We doubt anyone would seriously contend PG&E’s performance has been adequate, or that substantial improvement is not still imperative,” the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The monitor cautioned that with 25,000 miles of power lines in California’s most fire-prone territory, the consequences of a single misstep — a missed hazard tree, the failure to replace corroded hardware on power lines — can be “death and destruction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judge Alsup, who repeatedly excoriated PG&E during its probation, asked both federal prosecutors and PG&E in 2019 to weigh in on whether he could extend the company’s probation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11900606/frustrated-with-pge-denial-of-wildfire-charges-judge-raises-possibility-of-extending-probation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">raised the idea again\u003c/a> during a hearing earlier this month held to consider allegations PG&E had violated probation by starting the Kincade and Zogg fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When PG&E lawyers formally denied the charges, Alsup told Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Stern he would consider extending probation, but only if prosecutors asked him to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco declined to file such a motion. Instead, \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21174557/usa-v-pge-us-attorneys-office-informs-court-it-will-not-seek-to-extend-probation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">it told Alsup\u003c/a> that PG&E’s term of probation was already the maximum allowed under federal law. Even though there is no binding legal precedent, the prosecutors said, they would not seek an extension given the “unique history and circumstances” of the PG&E case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Catherine Sandoval, an energy professor at Santa Clara University and a former member of the California Public Utilities Commission, faulted federal prosecutors for backing away from trying to extend the probation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also critical of the U.S. Attorney’s Office decision not to pursue an evidentiary hearing to prove the allegations that PG&E had violated its probation by igniting the Kincade and Zogg fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s disappointing because for basic respect for the law here, you have a felon who has already admitted to 85 felonies during their probation,” Sandoval told KQED. “And then they’re charged with more probation violations and the U.S. attorney doesn’t even want to hold a hearing to determine whether or not there was a probation violation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s just not consistent with the respect for the law I believe that we need, especially for, unfortunately, a recidivist felon, PG&E,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stern, the federal prosecutor handling PG&E’s probation, didn’t respond to an Associated Press request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While acknowledging its problems, PG&E claimed in \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21190281/pges-final-report-on-probation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its own final report\u003c/a> to the judge in November that its electricity grid is “fundamentally safer” now than in January 2017. It also defended the roughly 40,000 employees and contractors who maintain its operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Vilifying them and threatening to criminalize the exercise of professional judgment or the making of honest mistakes serves neither safety nor fairness, and instead severely detracts from PG&E’s efforts to bring the skills of the best and brightest to bear on stopping wildfires,” PG&E lawyers wrote. “We are all in this together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The utility says it now spends $1.4 billion annually to trim or remove trees, up from $400 million annually in 2017. But Alsup estimated PG&E still has a seven-year backlog of high-risk trees that need trimming or removal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know there is more to do,” PG&E told Alsup in its final report. “These are not just words on a page or a poster, they are a commitment to make it right and make Californians safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandoval, who was among the CPUC commissioners overseeing PG&E from 2011 to 2017, accused PG&E officials of being mired in a pattern of “cognitive immaturity” and “lazy thinking” that should require its executives and board to submit to counseling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E, the corporation, needs the training an individual criminal defendant would have received in prison to break the cycle of criminal thinking that endangers public safety,” Sandoval wrote in a filing earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from The Associated Press and Dan Brekke of KQED News. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "While the utility argued it has become 'fundamentally safer' during probation, the judge said the company's record of starting devastating wildfires every year shows it remains 'a menace to California.' ",
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"title": "PG&E Exits Federal Probation Despite What Judge Calls Five-Year 'Crime Spree' | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>PG&E has completed five years of criminal probation despite worries that the nation’s largest utility remains too dangerous to trust after years of devastation from wildfires sparked by its equipment and linked to neglectful management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The probation, which expired at midnight Tuesday, was intended to rehabilitate PG&E and improve its safety practices after its 2016 conviction arising from the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, PG&E has been found responsible year after year for igniting catastrophic wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those include several in the North Bay in 2017; the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County that nearly wiped out the town of Paradise and nearby communities; the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County; the 2020 Zogg Fire in Shasta County, which killed four people; and last year’s Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 1 million acres of northern Sierra Nevada forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All told, fires the company started while on probation have killed 111 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In these five years, PG&E has gone on a crime spree and will emerge from probation as a continuing menace to California,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote in \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21182427/final-comments-of-district-court-upon-expiration-of-pges-probation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a report last week\u003c/a> reviewing his oversight of the utility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have tried hard to rehabilitate PG&E,” Alsup wrote. “As the supervising district judge, however, I must acknowledge failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alsup declined an interview request from The Associated Press to elaborate on his concerns about PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E faces more criminal charges for both the Kincade and Zogg fires. Butte County prosecutors are now determining whether to charge the company with arson in the Dixie Fire, a decision due by July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s conduct prompted its court-appointed monitor to raise alarms about the utility’s wildfire prevention efforts in \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21190278/usavpge-monitorreport-211123.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a final report filed in November\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the monitor’s report applauded significant improvements to the company’s natural gas operations, it raised serious concerns about the company’s poor record of wildfire safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We doubt anyone would seriously contend PG&E’s performance has been adequate, or that substantial improvement is not still imperative,” the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The monitor cautioned that with 25,000 miles of power lines in California’s most fire-prone territory, the consequences of a single misstep — a missed hazard tree, the failure to replace corroded hardware on power lines — can be “death and destruction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judge Alsup, who repeatedly excoriated PG&E during its probation, asked both federal prosecutors and PG&E in 2019 to weigh in on whether he could extend the company’s probation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11900606/frustrated-with-pge-denial-of-wildfire-charges-judge-raises-possibility-of-extending-probation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">raised the idea again\u003c/a> during a hearing earlier this month held to consider allegations PG&E had violated probation by starting the Kincade and Zogg fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When PG&E lawyers formally denied the charges, Alsup told Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Stern he would consider extending probation, but only if prosecutors asked him to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco declined to file such a motion. Instead, \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21174557/usa-v-pge-us-attorneys-office-informs-court-it-will-not-seek-to-extend-probation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">it told Alsup\u003c/a> that PG&E’s term of probation was already the maximum allowed under federal law. Even though there is no binding legal precedent, the prosecutors said, they would not seek an extension given the “unique history and circumstances” of the PG&E case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Catherine Sandoval, an energy professor at Santa Clara University and a former member of the California Public Utilities Commission, faulted federal prosecutors for backing away from trying to extend the probation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also critical of the U.S. Attorney’s Office decision not to pursue an evidentiary hearing to prove the allegations that PG&E had violated its probation by igniting the Kincade and Zogg fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s disappointing because for basic respect for the law here, you have a felon who has already admitted to 85 felonies during their probation,” Sandoval told KQED. “And then they’re charged with more probation violations and the U.S. attorney doesn’t even want to hold a hearing to determine whether or not there was a probation violation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s just not consistent with the respect for the law I believe that we need, especially for, unfortunately, a recidivist felon, PG&E,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stern, the federal prosecutor handling PG&E’s probation, didn’t respond to an Associated Press request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While acknowledging its problems, PG&E claimed in \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21190281/pges-final-report-on-probation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its own final report\u003c/a> to the judge in November that its electricity grid is “fundamentally safer” now than in January 2017. It also defended the roughly 40,000 employees and contractors who maintain its operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Vilifying them and threatening to criminalize the exercise of professional judgment or the making of honest mistakes serves neither safety nor fairness, and instead severely detracts from PG&E’s efforts to bring the skills of the best and brightest to bear on stopping wildfires,” PG&E lawyers wrote. “We are all in this together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The utility says it now spends $1.4 billion annually to trim or remove trees, up from $400 million annually in 2017. But Alsup estimated PG&E still has a seven-year backlog of high-risk trees that need trimming or removal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know there is more to do,” PG&E told Alsup in its final report. “These are not just words on a page or a poster, they are a commitment to make it right and make Californians safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandoval, who was among the CPUC commissioners overseeing PG&E from 2011 to 2017, accused PG&E officials of being mired in a pattern of “cognitive immaturity” and “lazy thinking” that should require its executives and board to submit to counseling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E, the corporation, needs the training an individual criminal defendant would have received in prison to break the cycle of criminal thinking that endangers public safety,” Sandoval wrote in a filing earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from The Associated Press and Dan Brekke of KQED News. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning",
"title": "'Sharks Are Circling Again': With Wildfires Come Lawyers, and Previous Survivors Have a Warning",
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"headTitle": "‘Sharks Are Circling Again’: With Wildfires Come Lawyers, and Previous Survivors Have a Warning | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Attorneys in the fast-growing wildfire litigation industry are racing to recruit victims of fires ravaging parts of Northern California, and they’re promising to take on a familiar target: PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-20210713.pdf\">company disclosed\u003c/a> that its equipment \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-210802-14927.pdf\">may have sparked two fires this year\u003c/a>, including the Dixie Fire, the largest single-origin fire in California history, which to date has engulfed nearly 1,400 square miles, destroying 1,282 structures and forcing thousands to evacuate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Victoria Gann, Camp Fire survivor\"]‘It’s like a free-for-fall.’[/pullquote]Prominent plaintiffs’ attorneys have swooped in even as the fire burns. As part of their campaign, they’ve plowed money into social media and launched websites touting their credentials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’ve held a steady stream of in-person and virtual town hall meetings, flying in from across California and around the country to lure in potential clients with everything from free food to face time with famed anti-PG&E activist Erin Brockovich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some attorneys have already begun the process of setting up shop in the small mountain towns of Quincy and Susanville, where many evacuees are stuck in limbo, staying in motels or with friends as they try to figure out what’s next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887772\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887772 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg\" alt=\"Three people sit at an outdoor table amid Styrofoam containers and soda cans.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandy Sullens (right) and her husband, Bob, who recently lost their home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville, at a barbecue for evacuees in Quincy, sponsored by the law firm Potter Handy, on Aug. 19, 2021. “We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These lawyers claim they have experience getting massive settlements out of PG&E for survivors of earlier fires. But many of those families, who turned to these same lawyers after losing their homes and loved ones, still sleep in cars and trailers and now say they see a replay of the broken promises they say have traumatized them a second time. They offer a warning for today’s fire victims: Buyer beware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like a free-for-fall,” said Victoria Gann, who lived in Paradise for 20 years before the Camp Fire destroyed the Sierra Nevada town in 2018. Three years later, she still lives in a trailer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gann is among the 70,000 survivors of wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment between 2015 and 2018 who were promised $13.5 billion in a settlement with the utility. Nearly two years later, most of those fire survivors have yet to receive a dime. “It’s only a disaster for the people it happened to. For everyone else, it seems to be a cash windfall,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rush of attorneys into rural Northern California prompted Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister to \u003ca href=\"https://www.plumasnews.com/district-attorney-hollister-provides-information-regarding-legal-assistance-in-the-wake-of-the-dixie-fire/\">publish and distribute pamphlets\u003c/a> urging fire victims not to rush as they hire lawyers and contractors. It includes ethics guidance from the State Bar of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we want is for people to be revictimized,” Hollister told KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom. “This is a big life-changing decision. So take a step back and make a good choice that’s going to protect you going forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887782\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887782 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"One worker is on top of a crane next to a power line.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1730\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-800x541.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-2048x1384.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1920x1298.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several days after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, PG&E crews repair power lines destroyed by flames on Nov. 21, 2018. As of Sept. 2021, a large number of the 70,000 survivors of PG&E-caused fires between 2015 and 2018 had not yet received any money from the Fire Victim Trust, set up in 2020 to distribute billions of dollars as part of a settlement. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers haven’t delivered, survivors say\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The push by lawyers to sign up new survivors as clients has become something of a grim fire season tradition in California. Among the most prolific lawyers is Mikal Watts, a trial lawyer from Corpus Christi, Texas, who once told a community forum of fire victims in Sonoma County wine country that he \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-victims-lawyer-scrutinized-over-Wall-15241511.php\">wanted to “be your daddy.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Mikal Watts, Trial lawyer to wildfire survivors\"]‘The way you level out the playing field is you assemble 16,000 people.’[/pullquote]On Wednesday, Watts could be found holding court at the Quincy Public Library, addressing those fleeing the Dixie Fire in person, with Brockovich and more fire victims joining on Zoom. “They have a ton of lawyers,” Watts said of PG&E, telling his audience the company was prepared to “crush you like a bug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way you level out the playing field is you assemble 16,000 people,” said Watts, who represented 16,000 survivors of PG&E fires during the company’s recent bankruptcy. “Now all of a sudden, you’ve got their attention and they’re quaking in their boots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s rising concern among survivors of past fires who say these lawyers do not deliver what they promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2019, Watts, along with other attorneys currently recruiting Dixie Fire survivors as clients, announced a settlement with PG&E that promised $13.5 billion in compensation for approximately 70,000 fire victims of the Camp Fire and other fires sparked by the company’s equipment between 2015 and 2018. But payments have been slow to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11884610\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg\"]In May, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom revealed\u003c/a> that in its first year of operation, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust spent more than $50 million on overhead, with the trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charging $1,500 an hour (he now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884610/will-pges-fire-victims-ever-be-made-whole-never-says-trustee-overseeing-compensation\">claims to make $125,000 a month\u003c/a>). Since then, payments have sped up — with the trust saying it’s put approximately $740 million in the hands of fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But because half of the settlement came in the form of PG&E stock rather than cash, Trotter said it’s unlikely that fire survivors will get the amount that was promised. With the utility implicated in starting new fires every year, its stock price has languished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom asked Trotter in August when fire victims would be made whole, he said “they never will.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having to deal with the trust’s stock component is “unbearable,” he told us. When pressed, Trotter also said that in his decades as a trustee, he had never seen a victims’ settlement that included stock in the company that had harmed them.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A “horrible” fire settlement\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In his Sept. 1 letter to fire victims who were promised money in the 2019 settlement, Trotter \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Letter_from_the_Trustee_(9-1-21).pdf\">made an oblique reference to Watts\u003c/a>, saying some lawyers “eager to have their clients vote to approve PG&E’s emergence from bankruptcy, set unrealistic timelines for payments to be made after the Trust’s creation,” before quoting a description of Watts from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-wildfire-victims-still-unpaid-as-new-california-fires-weigh-on-companys-stock-11628674201\">recent article in The Wall Street Journal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11879943\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Powell-Camp-Fire-1020x698.jpg\"]In his letter, Trotter said the trust was currently worth “approximately $2.5 billion less than promised.” (PG&E is set to fund the trust with a final $700 million cash installment after this fire season.) So far, the trust hasn’t sold any of its 478 million shares, which comprise a quarter of all PG&E stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts declined to be interviewed for this story. In an email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom, he did not address the discrepancy directly but said Trotter was “an honorable man in whom I have the utmost respect and confidence.” The PG&E bankruptcy settlement “was the second-largest tort settlement in American history at that time,” he added, “one I am very proud to have worked [on] with fine lawyers across California to achieve on behalf of all our clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts continues to boast of the scale of relief he said he brokered for fire survivors. A website from his group offering legal services declares that he “led the negotiations with PG&E to raise the settlement negotiation from $8.4 billion to $13.5 billion, the largest settlement in bankruptcy history,” though the trust has never been worth that much in the year since PG&E funded it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E also declined to be interviewed and sent a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We empathize with the ongoing hardships many victims face, and remain steadfast in our commitment to make it safe for our customers and communities,” the statement read. “To deliver on this commitment, we are hardening our system, piloting new technologies, and taking other aggressive action to increase system safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887779\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 860px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887779 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg\" alt='A woman, yelling, holds up two big poster signs, one reading, \"Disaster Capitalism.\"' width=\"860\" height=\"574\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg 860w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">About a hundred survivors of the Camp Fire attended a rally in Paradise on May 22, 2021, to protest runaway overhead expenses incurred by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Angela Casler, left, lost her father-in-law shortly after the Camp Fire. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Geoff Reed, a survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire, didn’t mince words when asked about the deal that Watts helped craft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plan is horrible,” he said. Reed and his two daughters, who were 4 and 3 at the time of the fire, have lived in a cramped apartment in Redding since they lost everything. His older girl has nightmares from witnessing dead bodies during their escape from Paradise as the fire burned all around them. His younger daughter constantly worries that another blaze will come for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed said that, fresh off the experience of fleeing the fire, he signed up with Watts’s group after attending a town hall meeting featuring Brockovich, who gained fame for exposing PG&E’s water contamination cover-up in Hinkley, a desert town in San Bernardino County. Reed later learned that Brockovich was acting as a paid non-attorney spokesperson for the legal group headed up by Watts along with Doug Boxer, the son of former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hired Brockovich as a media mercenary and everybody fawns over her and flocks to her. I did,” Reed said. After he signed up, Reed says Brockovich stopped returning his calls. Jarred by the experience, he switched to a different legal group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Geoff Reed, Survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire\"]‘I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?’[/pullquote]When KQED interviewed Brockovich last year, she responded to allegations that she has been unresponsive: “I travel a lot. There could be moments where I’m backlogged or I didn’t get back to somebody. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fire survivors voted on their settlement last year, Brockovich \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Erin-Brockovich-Why-fire-victims-should-accept-15173053.php\">penned an opinion piece in The San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a> urging them to vote in support of the settlement, and was quoted in two PG&E press releases touting the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed called it “a legal con job. I know the outcome, as do thousands of us.” Reed said he’d received an initial $6,667 from the trust but was expecting far more: “I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Trotter, PG&E funded the Fire Victim Trust when shares were worth $9. That’s well below the $14.13 implied price they paid per share, a value derived by dividing the $6.75 billion in stock they were promised by the 478 million shares that PG&E actually gave them in the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers backed by Wall Street\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As word of Watts and Boxer’s forum at the Quincy library leaked out on social media, a member of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/573936233419008/posts/1017406632405297/\">Facebook group for 2015-2018 fire survivors\u003c/a> posted a screenshot with the caption “Ka-Ching,” drawing dozens of comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sharks are circling again,” commented Stephen Muser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No thx. We’re 3 years of waiting ourselves with the Campfire,” wrote Patricia Wenner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some even suggested that past fire survivors attend the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of us Camp Fire folks should join and ask questions about our claims—-,” commented Eva Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another commenter referenced the revelation last year that Watts had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-by-wall-street-firms-hes-negotiating-against\">accepted litigation funding from some Wall Street hedge funds\u003c/a> negotiating against the interests of fire survivors, including his own clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED was first to report on those ties, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814494/wall-street-ties-of-lawyer-for-pge-fire-victims-have-some-survivors-querying-settlement-vote\">some fire victims and ethics experts said it raised red flags\u003c/a>, adding that Watts should have disclosed them to his clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='More Stories' tag='camp-fire']At a town hall meeting last year, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/TEwCjhG53C8?t=6545\">this reporter asked Watts\u003c/a> if he had accepted funding from the hedge fund Centerbridge Partners. He indicated that he had not. But when KQED neared publication on a story about it, Watts changed course, admitting to accepting the litigation funding from Centerbridge and others, and ultimately submitting a written disclosure to clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom for this story, Watts said there was no conflict of interest because he does not have a single line of financing. “I have access to funds from multiple sources relating to different kinds of cases I litigate across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that that particular line of credit \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-pg-e-fire-victims-weigh-settlement-lawyers-role-attracts-scrutiny-11589198405\">was worth $100 million\u003c/a>, but toward the end of Wednesday’s recruitment event, Watts quoted a much larger amount, which he later told KQED stems from multiple lines of credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mentioned I’ve got access to a lot of money that I borrow from New York banks — $400 million of access so I can spend whatever it takes,” Watts told the audience. “They made up this cockamamie deal about Mikal’s loans are backed up by people that own part of PG&E and this and that. It’s all a bunch of nonsense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He told the audience of Dixie Fire survivors that he had refinanced the loans “to clean it all up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ll come after me but don’t worry about it. It’s all white noise,” Watts concluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Digital flyers for the event included a photo of Brockovich, who appeared on the Zoom but never spoke and dropped off the livestream midway through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887799\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887799 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg\" alt=\"People sit at a group of picnic tables on a green lawn beneath tall trees.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Last month, attorney Bret Cook organized a barbecue in Quincy for those displaced by the Dixie Fire. Not far from the food, attorneys placed a stack of legal contracts for potential wildfire victims to review. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Free food brings in wildfire survivors\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Watts is hardly the only attorney working to land recent fire victims as clients. KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom counted at least two dozen law firms posting ads and launching websites aimed at survivors of the Dixie Fire. They offer to represent them for damages ranging from property loss, emotional distress and displacement costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Potter Handy, Attorney representing 200 victims of the Camp Fire,\"]‘It’s frustrating because of the bankruptcy … the clients in the Camp Fire got shortchanged.’[/pullquote]Last month, one firm organized a barbeque meal of smoked tri-tip and butterhorn rolls. For days, a flyer advertising it made the rounds of social media: “FREE DINNER,” it read. In smaller type below, it specified: “For those displaced due to the Dixie Fire Come Hungry!’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As ash fell from the sky, evacuee Sandy Sullens said she was there to learn more about what resources might be available to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens, who recently lost her home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the same story over and over and over again. PG&E. We’re not sure,” Sullens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event was organized by a local attorney, Bret Cook, who is partnering with Potter Handy, a law firm based in San Diego. The firm recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Disability-lawsuits-hit-S-F-Chinatown-and-state-16356130.php\">came under scrutiny\u003c/a> in San Francisco’s Chinatown for allegedly filing frivolous lawsuits against small businesses using the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city’s district attorney, Chesa Boudin, had floated the possibility of filing charges for criminal extortion against the firm, though no such charges were made in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Potter, who represented 200 victims of the Camp Fire, did not return an email seeking comment on his San Francisco litigation. But in an interview in Quincy he admitted to the flaws of the wildfire deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s frustrating because of the bankruptcy,” Potter said. “The clients in the Camp Fire got shortchanged in the bankruptcy process and so that was frustrating, frankly. It’s rewarding to help them out but those clients still haven’t been fully paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not far from the food, Potter Handy attorneys had placed a stack of legal contracts for potential victims to review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract states the terms: a contingency that would leave the lawyers with 25% of any potential reward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='More Coverage' tag='2021-wildfires']Cook has been the Sullens’s lawyer for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just providing some food for people evacuated from the Dixie Fire. It’s a way to give back to the community,” said Cook, who also lost his home and law office in Greenville. “It was a way of putting a little smile on their face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if they’re here to enlist clients, Cook demurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not doing that, necessarily. People are asking us. And we’re certainly not going to say no. As I call around, having an avenue to rebuild brings them a sense of hope,” Cook said. “Some are ready to move to that next step and I want to make ourselves available in that case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the correct name of the State Bar of California.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Paul Boger of KUNR in Reno, Nevada, contributed reporting from Quincy.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Attorneys in the fast-growing wildfire litigation industry are racing to recruit victims of wildfires like the Camp and Dixie fires, but some past and current clients advise caution.",
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"title": "'Sharks Are Circling Again': With Wildfires Come Lawyers, and Previous Survivors Have a Warning | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Attorneys in the fast-growing wildfire litigation industry are racing to recruit victims of fires ravaging parts of Northern California, and they’re promising to take on a familiar target: PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-20210713.pdf\">company disclosed\u003c/a> that its equipment \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-210802-14927.pdf\">may have sparked two fires this year\u003c/a>, including the Dixie Fire, the largest single-origin fire in California history, which to date has engulfed nearly 1,400 square miles, destroying 1,282 structures and forcing thousands to evacuate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Prominent plaintiffs’ attorneys have swooped in even as the fire burns. As part of their campaign, they’ve plowed money into social media and launched websites touting their credentials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’ve held a steady stream of in-person and virtual town hall meetings, flying in from across California and around the country to lure in potential clients with everything from free food to face time with famed anti-PG&E activist Erin Brockovich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some attorneys have already begun the process of setting up shop in the small mountain towns of Quincy and Susanville, where many evacuees are stuck in limbo, staying in motels or with friends as they try to figure out what’s next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887772\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887772 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg\" alt=\"Three people sit at an outdoor table amid Styrofoam containers and soda cans.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandy Sullens (right) and her husband, Bob, who recently lost their home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville, at a barbecue for evacuees in Quincy, sponsored by the law firm Potter Handy, on Aug. 19, 2021. “We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These lawyers claim they have experience getting massive settlements out of PG&E for survivors of earlier fires. But many of those families, who turned to these same lawyers after losing their homes and loved ones, still sleep in cars and trailers and now say they see a replay of the broken promises they say have traumatized them a second time. They offer a warning for today’s fire victims: Buyer beware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like a free-for-fall,” said Victoria Gann, who lived in Paradise for 20 years before the Camp Fire destroyed the Sierra Nevada town in 2018. Three years later, she still lives in a trailer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gann is among the 70,000 survivors of wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment between 2015 and 2018 who were promised $13.5 billion in a settlement with the utility. Nearly two years later, most of those fire survivors have yet to receive a dime. “It’s only a disaster for the people it happened to. For everyone else, it seems to be a cash windfall,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rush of attorneys into rural Northern California prompted Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister to \u003ca href=\"https://www.plumasnews.com/district-attorney-hollister-provides-information-regarding-legal-assistance-in-the-wake-of-the-dixie-fire/\">publish and distribute pamphlets\u003c/a> urging fire victims not to rush as they hire lawyers and contractors. It includes ethics guidance from the State Bar of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we want is for people to be revictimized,” Hollister told KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom. “This is a big life-changing decision. So take a step back and make a good choice that’s going to protect you going forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887782\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887782 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"One worker is on top of a crane next to a power line.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1730\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-800x541.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-2048x1384.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1920x1298.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several days after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, PG&E crews repair power lines destroyed by flames on Nov. 21, 2018. As of Sept. 2021, a large number of the 70,000 survivors of PG&E-caused fires between 2015 and 2018 had not yet received any money from the Fire Victim Trust, set up in 2020 to distribute billions of dollars as part of a settlement. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers haven’t delivered, survivors say\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The push by lawyers to sign up new survivors as clients has become something of a grim fire season tradition in California. Among the most prolific lawyers is Mikal Watts, a trial lawyer from Corpus Christi, Texas, who once told a community forum of fire victims in Sonoma County wine country that he \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-victims-lawyer-scrutinized-over-Wall-15241511.php\">wanted to “be your daddy.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On Wednesday, Watts could be found holding court at the Quincy Public Library, addressing those fleeing the Dixie Fire in person, with Brockovich and more fire victims joining on Zoom. “They have a ton of lawyers,” Watts said of PG&E, telling his audience the company was prepared to “crush you like a bug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way you level out the playing field is you assemble 16,000 people,” said Watts, who represented 16,000 survivors of PG&E fires during the company’s recent bankruptcy. “Now all of a sudden, you’ve got their attention and they’re quaking in their boots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s rising concern among survivors of past fires who say these lawyers do not deliver what they promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2019, Watts, along with other attorneys currently recruiting Dixie Fire survivors as clients, announced a settlement with PG&E that promised $13.5 billion in compensation for approximately 70,000 fire victims of the Camp Fire and other fires sparked by the company’s equipment between 2015 and 2018. But payments have been slow to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In May, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom revealed\u003c/a> that in its first year of operation, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust spent more than $50 million on overhead, with the trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charging $1,500 an hour (he now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884610/will-pges-fire-victims-ever-be-made-whole-never-says-trustee-overseeing-compensation\">claims to make $125,000 a month\u003c/a>). Since then, payments have sped up — with the trust saying it’s put approximately $740 million in the hands of fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But because half of the settlement came in the form of PG&E stock rather than cash, Trotter said it’s unlikely that fire survivors will get the amount that was promised. With the utility implicated in starting new fires every year, its stock price has languished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom asked Trotter in August when fire victims would be made whole, he said “they never will.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having to deal with the trust’s stock component is “unbearable,” he told us. When pressed, Trotter also said that in his decades as a trustee, he had never seen a victims’ settlement that included stock in the company that had harmed them.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A “horrible” fire settlement\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In his Sept. 1 letter to fire victims who were promised money in the 2019 settlement, Trotter \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Letter_from_the_Trustee_(9-1-21).pdf\">made an oblique reference to Watts\u003c/a>, saying some lawyers “eager to have their clients vote to approve PG&E’s emergence from bankruptcy, set unrealistic timelines for payments to be made after the Trust’s creation,” before quoting a description of Watts from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-wildfire-victims-still-unpaid-as-new-california-fires-weigh-on-companys-stock-11628674201\">recent article in The Wall Street Journal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In his letter, Trotter said the trust was currently worth “approximately $2.5 billion less than promised.” (PG&E is set to fund the trust with a final $700 million cash installment after this fire season.) So far, the trust hasn’t sold any of its 478 million shares, which comprise a quarter of all PG&E stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts declined to be interviewed for this story. In an email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom, he did not address the discrepancy directly but said Trotter was “an honorable man in whom I have the utmost respect and confidence.” The PG&E bankruptcy settlement “was the second-largest tort settlement in American history at that time,” he added, “one I am very proud to have worked [on] with fine lawyers across California to achieve on behalf of all our clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts continues to boast of the scale of relief he said he brokered for fire survivors. A website from his group offering legal services declares that he “led the negotiations with PG&E to raise the settlement negotiation from $8.4 billion to $13.5 billion, the largest settlement in bankruptcy history,” though the trust has never been worth that much in the year since PG&E funded it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E also declined to be interviewed and sent a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We empathize with the ongoing hardships many victims face, and remain steadfast in our commitment to make it safe for our customers and communities,” the statement read. “To deliver on this commitment, we are hardening our system, piloting new technologies, and taking other aggressive action to increase system safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887779\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 860px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887779 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg\" alt='A woman, yelling, holds up two big poster signs, one reading, \"Disaster Capitalism.\"' width=\"860\" height=\"574\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg 860w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">About a hundred survivors of the Camp Fire attended a rally in Paradise on May 22, 2021, to protest runaway overhead expenses incurred by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Angela Casler, left, lost her father-in-law shortly after the Camp Fire. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Geoff Reed, a survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire, didn’t mince words when asked about the deal that Watts helped craft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plan is horrible,” he said. Reed and his two daughters, who were 4 and 3 at the time of the fire, have lived in a cramped apartment in Redding since they lost everything. His older girl has nightmares from witnessing dead bodies during their escape from Paradise as the fire burned all around them. His younger daughter constantly worries that another blaze will come for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed said that, fresh off the experience of fleeing the fire, he signed up with Watts’s group after attending a town hall meeting featuring Brockovich, who gained fame for exposing PG&E’s water contamination cover-up in Hinkley, a desert town in San Bernardino County. Reed later learned that Brockovich was acting as a paid non-attorney spokesperson for the legal group headed up by Watts along with Doug Boxer, the son of former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hired Brockovich as a media mercenary and everybody fawns over her and flocks to her. I did,” Reed said. After he signed up, Reed says Brockovich stopped returning his calls. Jarred by the experience, he switched to a different legal group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When KQED interviewed Brockovich last year, she responded to allegations that she has been unresponsive: “I travel a lot. There could be moments where I’m backlogged or I didn’t get back to somebody. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fire survivors voted on their settlement last year, Brockovich \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Erin-Brockovich-Why-fire-victims-should-accept-15173053.php\">penned an opinion piece in The San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a> urging them to vote in support of the settlement, and was quoted in two PG&E press releases touting the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed called it “a legal con job. I know the outcome, as do thousands of us.” Reed said he’d received an initial $6,667 from the trust but was expecting far more: “I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Trotter, PG&E funded the Fire Victim Trust when shares were worth $9. That’s well below the $14.13 implied price they paid per share, a value derived by dividing the $6.75 billion in stock they were promised by the 478 million shares that PG&E actually gave them in the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers backed by Wall Street\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As word of Watts and Boxer’s forum at the Quincy library leaked out on social media, a member of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/573936233419008/posts/1017406632405297/\">Facebook group for 2015-2018 fire survivors\u003c/a> posted a screenshot with the caption “Ka-Ching,” drawing dozens of comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sharks are circling again,” commented Stephen Muser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No thx. We’re 3 years of waiting ourselves with the Campfire,” wrote Patricia Wenner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some even suggested that past fire survivors attend the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of us Camp Fire folks should join and ask questions about our claims—-,” commented Eva Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another commenter referenced the revelation last year that Watts had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-by-wall-street-firms-hes-negotiating-against\">accepted litigation funding from some Wall Street hedge funds\u003c/a> negotiating against the interests of fire survivors, including his own clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED was first to report on those ties, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814494/wall-street-ties-of-lawyer-for-pge-fire-victims-have-some-survivors-querying-settlement-vote\">some fire victims and ethics experts said it raised red flags\u003c/a>, adding that Watts should have disclosed them to his clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At a town hall meeting last year, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/TEwCjhG53C8?t=6545\">this reporter asked Watts\u003c/a> if he had accepted funding from the hedge fund Centerbridge Partners. He indicated that he had not. But when KQED neared publication on a story about it, Watts changed course, admitting to accepting the litigation funding from Centerbridge and others, and ultimately submitting a written disclosure to clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom for this story, Watts said there was no conflict of interest because he does not have a single line of financing. “I have access to funds from multiple sources relating to different kinds of cases I litigate across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that that particular line of credit \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-pg-e-fire-victims-weigh-settlement-lawyers-role-attracts-scrutiny-11589198405\">was worth $100 million\u003c/a>, but toward the end of Wednesday’s recruitment event, Watts quoted a much larger amount, which he later told KQED stems from multiple lines of credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mentioned I’ve got access to a lot of money that I borrow from New York banks — $400 million of access so I can spend whatever it takes,” Watts told the audience. “They made up this cockamamie deal about Mikal’s loans are backed up by people that own part of PG&E and this and that. It’s all a bunch of nonsense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He told the audience of Dixie Fire survivors that he had refinanced the loans “to clean it all up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ll come after me but don’t worry about it. It’s all white noise,” Watts concluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Digital flyers for the event included a photo of Brockovich, who appeared on the Zoom but never spoke and dropped off the livestream midway through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887799\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887799 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg\" alt=\"People sit at a group of picnic tables on a green lawn beneath tall trees.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Last month, attorney Bret Cook organized a barbecue in Quincy for those displaced by the Dixie Fire. Not far from the food, attorneys placed a stack of legal contracts for potential wildfire victims to review. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Free food brings in wildfire survivors\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Watts is hardly the only attorney working to land recent fire victims as clients. KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom counted at least two dozen law firms posting ads and launching websites aimed at survivors of the Dixie Fire. They offer to represent them for damages ranging from property loss, emotional distress and displacement costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last month, one firm organized a barbeque meal of smoked tri-tip and butterhorn rolls. For days, a flyer advertising it made the rounds of social media: “FREE DINNER,” it read. In smaller type below, it specified: “For those displaced due to the Dixie Fire Come Hungry!’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As ash fell from the sky, evacuee Sandy Sullens said she was there to learn more about what resources might be available to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens, who recently lost her home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the same story over and over and over again. PG&E. We’re not sure,” Sullens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event was organized by a local attorney, Bret Cook, who is partnering with Potter Handy, a law firm based in San Diego. The firm recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Disability-lawsuits-hit-S-F-Chinatown-and-state-16356130.php\">came under scrutiny\u003c/a> in San Francisco’s Chinatown for allegedly filing frivolous lawsuits against small businesses using the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city’s district attorney, Chesa Boudin, had floated the possibility of filing charges for criminal extortion against the firm, though no such charges were made in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Potter, who represented 200 victims of the Camp Fire, did not return an email seeking comment on his San Francisco litigation. But in an interview in Quincy he admitted to the flaws of the wildfire deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s frustrating because of the bankruptcy,” Potter said. “The clients in the Camp Fire got shortchanged in the bankruptcy process and so that was frustrating, frankly. It’s rewarding to help them out but those clients still haven’t been fully paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not far from the food, Potter Handy attorneys had placed a stack of legal contracts for potential victims to review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract states the terms: a contingency that would leave the lawyers with 25% of any potential reward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Cook has been the Sullens’s lawyer for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just providing some food for people evacuated from the Dixie Fire. It’s a way to give back to the community,” said Cook, who also lost his home and law office in Greenville. “It was a way of putting a little smile on their face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if they’re here to enlist clients, Cook demurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not doing that, necessarily. People are asking us. And we’re certainly not going to say no. As I call around, having an avenue to rebuild brings them a sense of hope,” Cook said. “Some are ready to move to that next step and I want to make ourselves available in that case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the correct name of the State Bar of California.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Paul Boger of KUNR in Reno, Nevada, contributed reporting from Quincy.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "PG&E Power Line May Have Sparked Dixie Fire, Near Where Its Equipment Started State's Deadliest Blaze",
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"content": "\u003cp>PG&E said in a report filed with state utility regulators late Sunday night that Cal Fire is investigating the company's equipment as the possible cause of a wildland blaze that's burned nearly 50 square miles of forest land in Butte and Plumas counties. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company says Cal Fire investigators collected parts of a power line and other possible evidence, including portions of a tree that came into contact with the line, from the location where the fire was first seen last Tuesday, July 13. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sunday night report and a separate PG&E statement said the company was disclosing the information \"in an abundance of caution\" and is cooperating with Cal Fire's investigation. Cal Fire confirmed it's investigating but declined further comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/14/dixie-fire/\">Dixie Fire\u003c/a> started in the Feather River Canyon just 5 miles upstream from the spot where a PG&E transmission line touched off the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's recorded history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21011766/071821.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">electrical incident report\u003c/a> to the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E described a 10-hour series of events that began 7 a.m. on July 13 with a power outage at its Cresta hydropower dam on the Feather River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company says a field worker — referred to in the report as a troubleman — was dispatched to the area, along Highway 70 about 30 miles northeast of Oroville, to investigate. The company's report does not say when the worker was dispatched. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The responding PG&E troubleman observed from a distance what he thought was a blown fuse\" on a power line. But getting to the line – a lower-voltage distribution line strung across wooden poles — proved difficult. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only access to the spot, along a rugged dirt track called Storrie Road, was by way of another backcountry route called Camp Creek Road. PG&E says its worker drove along that road until he reached an out-of-service bridge and was forced to walk the rest of the way to the location of the possible blown fuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he finally reached that spot it was 4:40 p.m., the company says — nearly 10 hours after the first indication of trouble in the area. In addition to finding that two of three fuses at the location had blown, the company report says, the worker discovered a \"healthy green tree leaning into [a power line], which was still intact and suspended on the poles. He also observed a fire on the ground near the base of the tree.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After removing the still-intact fuse, the worker alerted a supervisor, who then called 911. But by then, Cal Fire already knew about the blaze. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11880651,news_11879943,news_11875846 label='Related Coverage']Just after 5 p.m., a passing Sutter County fire crew alerted Cal Fire dispatchers to a small blaze burning \"near the power lines\" on the other side of the river. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crew leader estimated the size of the fire at 40 feet by 40 feet. Cal Fire air tankers and helicopters responded within an hour in hopes of dropping enough water and retardant on the blaze to limit its spread until ground crews could arrive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But getting access to the fire scene also proved daunting for those ground forces, which initially included half a dozen fire engines, two hand crews, a bulldozer and three water tenders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Cal Fire engine and a bus carrying a 20-member hand crew made their way up Camp Creek Road only to find the impassable bridge. The hand crew arrived at the disabled bridge after 8 p.m., nearly three hours after it was dispatched, and still faced a hike of at least a mile to get to the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire commanders decided to hold off on sending reinforcements up Camp Creek Road. Instead, just before 9 p.m., they dispatched engines and water tenders to a remote road called 300 U Line that a single Cal Fire engine had scouted and found to have access to the fire scene from the slope above. Getting to the U Line site, however, required a drive of about 20 miles from a staging location on Highway 70 — much of it on a series of steep, twisting dirt roads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One final factor limited Cal Fire's early response to the blaze: Shortly before 8 p.m., air operations were halted when a private drone was spotted over the fire. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Cal Fire issued a statement at 8:45 p.m. that sounded an optimistic note about containing the fire. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Air resources were able to ... hold the fire to approximately 1 to 2 acres,\" the statement said. \"Air tankers dropped at least 7,000 gallons of retardant, while [a] helicopter was able to consistently take and drop water from the Feather River, which was right below the fire. Ground resources were able to hike into the fire and will begin to construct line around the fire and hold the fire at its current size.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monday morning, Cal Fire reported the Dixie Fire has burned more than 30,000 acres and is 15% contained. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The blaze spread rapidly on Sunday, jumping the Feather River and growing to about 19,000 acres before sunset. The rapid spread of the fire prompted mandatory evacuation orders in several Butte and Plumas county communities north and east of the blaze, including along the river and near Bucks Lake.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>PG&E said in a report filed with state utility regulators late Sunday night that Cal Fire is investigating the company's equipment as the possible cause of a wildland blaze that's burned nearly 50 square miles of forest land in Butte and Plumas counties. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company says Cal Fire investigators collected parts of a power line and other possible evidence, including portions of a tree that came into contact with the line, from the location where the fire was first seen last Tuesday, July 13. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sunday night report and a separate PG&E statement said the company was disclosing the information \"in an abundance of caution\" and is cooperating with Cal Fire's investigation. Cal Fire confirmed it's investigating but declined further comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/14/dixie-fire/\">Dixie Fire\u003c/a> started in the Feather River Canyon just 5 miles upstream from the spot where a PG&E transmission line touched off the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's recorded history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21011766/071821.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">electrical incident report\u003c/a> to the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E described a 10-hour series of events that began 7 a.m. on July 13 with a power outage at its Cresta hydropower dam on the Feather River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company says a field worker — referred to in the report as a troubleman — was dispatched to the area, along Highway 70 about 30 miles northeast of Oroville, to investigate. The company's report does not say when the worker was dispatched. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The responding PG&E troubleman observed from a distance what he thought was a blown fuse\" on a power line. But getting to the line – a lower-voltage distribution line strung across wooden poles — proved difficult. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only access to the spot, along a rugged dirt track called Storrie Road, was by way of another backcountry route called Camp Creek Road. PG&E says its worker drove along that road until he reached an out-of-service bridge and was forced to walk the rest of the way to the location of the possible blown fuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he finally reached that spot it was 4:40 p.m., the company says — nearly 10 hours after the first indication of trouble in the area. In addition to finding that two of three fuses at the location had blown, the company report says, the worker discovered a \"healthy green tree leaning into [a power line], which was still intact and suspended on the poles. He also observed a fire on the ground near the base of the tree.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After removing the still-intact fuse, the worker alerted a supervisor, who then called 911. But by then, Cal Fire already knew about the blaze. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Just after 5 p.m., a passing Sutter County fire crew alerted Cal Fire dispatchers to a small blaze burning \"near the power lines\" on the other side of the river. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crew leader estimated the size of the fire at 40 feet by 40 feet. Cal Fire air tankers and helicopters responded within an hour in hopes of dropping enough water and retardant on the blaze to limit its spread until ground crews could arrive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But getting access to the fire scene also proved daunting for those ground forces, which initially included half a dozen fire engines, two hand crews, a bulldozer and three water tenders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Cal Fire engine and a bus carrying a 20-member hand crew made their way up Camp Creek Road only to find the impassable bridge. The hand crew arrived at the disabled bridge after 8 p.m., nearly three hours after it was dispatched, and still faced a hike of at least a mile to get to the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire commanders decided to hold off on sending reinforcements up Camp Creek Road. Instead, just before 9 p.m., they dispatched engines and water tenders to a remote road called 300 U Line that a single Cal Fire engine had scouted and found to have access to the fire scene from the slope above. Getting to the U Line site, however, required a drive of about 20 miles from a staging location on Highway 70 — much of it on a series of steep, twisting dirt roads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One final factor limited Cal Fire's early response to the blaze: Shortly before 8 p.m., air operations were halted when a private drone was spotted over the fire. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Cal Fire issued a statement at 8:45 p.m. that sounded an optimistic note about containing the fire. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Air resources were able to ... hold the fire to approximately 1 to 2 acres,\" the statement said. \"Air tankers dropped at least 7,000 gallons of retardant, while [a] helicopter was able to consistently take and drop water from the Feather River, which was right below the fire. Ground resources were able to hike into the fire and will begin to construct line around the fire and hold the fire at its current size.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monday morning, Cal Fire reported the Dixie Fire has burned more than 30,000 acres and is 15% contained. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The blaze spread rapidly on Sunday, jumping the Feather River and growing to about 19,000 acres before sunset. The rapid spread of the fire prompted mandatory evacuation orders in several Butte and Plumas county communities north and east of the blaze, including along the river and near Bucks Lake.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "a-year-after-pge-left-bankruptcy-spending-by-fire-victim-trust-remains-a-mystery",
"title": "A Year After PG&E Left Bankruptcy, Spending by Fire Victim Trust Remains a Mystery",
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"headTitle": "A Year After PG&E Left Bankruptcy, Spending by Fire Victim Trust Remains a Mystery | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s been a year since Pacific Gas and Electric Company left Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That exit deal included a promised $13.5 billion settlement to pay victims of wildfires that were caused by the company’s equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal represented the culmination of a promise to fire survivors, PG&E interim CEO Bill Smith \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200701_pge_emerges_from_chapter_11\">declared\u003c/a> on July 1, 2020. “Today’s announcement is significant for PG&E and for the many wildfire victims who are now one step closer to getting paid,” he said. “Compensating these victims fairly and quickly has been our primary goal throughout these proceedings, and I am glad to say that today we funded the Fire Victim Trust for their benefit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a year later, public records show that a special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute the settlement has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084036887000&usg=AOvVaw0hyR-8qqeBfPKqldP6UYeX\">published an investigation\u003c/a> into spending by the Fire Victim Trust charged with compensating survivors. We found that in its first year, the trust had racked up $51 million in overhead, and distributed only $7 million to fire victims. Ninety percent of outgoing funds paid lawyers and consultants in 2020 while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pace of payments has picked up this year, but as of \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20982273-fvt-claims-data-report-63021-1\">June 30\u003c/a>, fewer than 3% of fire victims — 1,867 out of approximately 70,000 total — have had their claims fully processed. For now, they are getting 30% of what they were due while the Fire Victim Trust collects its fees in full. Approximately $436 million in compensation has been delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is still much we don’t know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, the Trust has refused to share its budget, a quarterly breakdown of expenses or a detailed reporting of firms and individuals the Trust has paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also refuses to make public other details we’ve requested, like the terms of its retention deal with attorneys \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">suing former PG&E directors and officers\u003c/a> on the Trust’s behalf. The attorney leading that lawsuit, Frank Pitre, happens to sit on the Fire Victim Trust’s court-appointed Trust Oversight Committee, as do representatives from three other law firms involved. KQED has been asking to review the Trust’s retention agreement with these attorneys since February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation=\"Scott McNutt, former California State Bar Board of Governors member and veteran bankruptcy attorney\"]‘One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leading experts told us the amount of secrecy surrounding the Trust was unusual. “One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency,” Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar Board of Governors member and veteran bankruptcy attorney, told KQED in May. “One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After we published our May investigation, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is outrageous,” the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, “especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta’s office said it is unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Trust Says Our Reporting Is ‘Inaccurate and Uninformed.’ They Are Wrong.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the lawmakers demanded an investigation, both the Fire Victim Trust and the Trust Oversight Committee, made up primarily of mass tort attorneys, wrote to the attorney general and disputed our reporting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fire Victim Trust is led by retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, who KQED revealed billed $1,500 an hour. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">video\u003c/a> released in response to our story, he said he had reduced his compensation to a “very adequate” salary of $150,000 a month. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"More coveage\" tag=\"fire-victims-trust\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974605-trustee-letter-to-ag-bonta-5-27-21-executed-4\">letter\u003c/a> to the attorney general, Trotter said he was “appalled by the carelessness with which it [the legislators’ letter] was written.” Without naming KQED or NPR’s California Newsroom, Trotter continued: “It appears to be influenced by a recent, inaccurate and uninformed news report with no attempt to understand the Trust’s operation or function.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974607-trustoversightcommitteeletter&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084187566000&usg=AOvVaw0WGLrTJ-Rbvb9Ukj9L7Kpg\">letter\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee said the figures reported by KQED were “out-of-date or .. out of context.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both statements couldn’t be further from the truth, as the lengthy trail of emails between KQED and the Fire Victim Trust makes clear. We have made extensive efforts to understand the Trust’s operations and function, and have consistently brought our findings to them — through their spokespeople — so that they have the opportunity to comment and explain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite their public attacks on our journalism, we have yet to see any legitimate examples of inaccuracies in our reporting on the Trust’s finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As spelled out below, we have done our best to provide this accounting with the limited information in the public record. We welcome any and all additional transparency by the Trust into its spending and administration. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trustee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nNo attempt was made to understand the Trust’s operation or function. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’S Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe have gone to great lengths to familiarize ourselves with the Trust’s inner workings. We have combed through past bankruptcy court filings, hearing transcripts and correspondence from the Trust to fire victims. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve had dozens of contacts via email and by phone with the Trust’s PR firm asking detailed questions about our findings. We’ve also asked to interview the trustee, John Trotter, and the Trust’s claims administrator numerous times since our last interview with both in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also contacted all seven of the firms we identified as having been paid by the Trust. Just one responded to our inquiry. None answered questions about how much money they had received.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again, we would welcome greater transparency into how the Trust does its work and spends its money. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nStating that the Trust spent almost 90% of the funds on overhead during the first year is “untrue and misleading as stated. Ninety percent of the funds in the Trust would be over $10 billion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nKQED has been clear from the first story published on the Trust’s finances that overhead comprised almost 90% of funds spent \u003cem>in its first year\u003c/em>. We have never suggested that the Trust has spent $10 billion — or anything near that amount — on overhead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe statement that the Fire Victim Trust accumulated over $51 million in overhead costs but allocated just $7 million to fire survivors is “based on 2020 year end data, which is now five months old, even though the Trust has released more recent data regarding payments to survivors, which demonstrated a much different picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThat 2020 year-end data on overhead costs is the only information the Trust chose to share in its annual report, which was published four months after the end of the reporting period it chose. Since then, the Trust has continued to incur overhead expenses without reporting updated figures to the public. The Trust has regularly released updated information on payments to fire survivors, however, and KQED has used the most up-to-date figures in all of our reports. We see that the Fire Victim Trust has begun posting this information publicly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Documents.aspx\">its website\u003c/a> since we published our investigation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20792877/ltr-from-toc-to-legislature-re-fvt.pdf\">recent letter responding to state lawmakers\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee decided to come forward with the information we sought ahead of our story. Operating expenses through April of this year — pending an audit of April expenses — now top $84.5 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875085\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11875085\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, California, on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n“Many people worked between January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2020 to get the Trust off the ground but until July 1 it had no funds, save an advance of $15M made by PG&E in April 2020 to cover expenses incurred from January 1 forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe are clear in our story — and in fact, were first to report — about this “advance,” which amounts to millions of dollars paid toward startup costs in the first half of last year, which the Trust left out of its \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974645-fvt-2020-annual-report\">2020 Annual Report\u003c/a>. Most of PG&E’s advance was ultimately credited back to the company, with fire victims footing the rest of the bill. It remains unclear why these costs were not included in the Fire Victim Trust’s annual report, despite KQED’s efforts to get answers ahead of publication of our first story. By our calculation, the Trust spent at least $12.7 million during the first half of last year. The Trust refuses to engage with us to confirm this calculation. PG&E has confirmed it for us. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe Trust needed to build a robust staff to develop a claims resolution process and root out fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThis and other explanations for the initially slow pace of payments have been clearly laid out in all of our stories. Despite the Fire Victim Trust’s decision to limit transparency, we have made every effort to be fair and include voices explaining why the process is taking time — even when the Trust would not provide this voice itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We note that an important reason for delay stems from the fact that a significant portion of compensation for fire victims came in the form of stock in PG&E itself. This rare outcome was actively supported by most members of the Trust Oversight Committee last year, as we \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084358063000&usg=AOvVaw3wVoUySa0l_Tah06dyPGii\">reported then\u003c/a>. More importantly, fire victims themselves voiced these concerns as we reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11801571/fire-victims-ask-judge-to-reconsider-13-5-billion-pge-settlement&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084394101000&usg=AOvVaw0zrmC-iNt7w3FeZBIhOQEQ\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11808826/fire-survivor-resigns-in-protest-from-pge-bankruptcy-committee&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084415239000&usg=AOvVaw22qb8ieHkyWA6ze_uvRx0G\">here\u003c/a>. Today, the tiny fraction of fire victims who have had their claims processed and paid are getting just 30% of their claim for now. In the words of the trustee \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDLml9GEyg\">himself\u003c/a>: “We don’t know how much money we have because a substantial portion of the assets that are going to be used to pay you are in the form of common stock of Pacific Gas and Electric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every dollar spent on overhead is a dollar not distributed to fire victims who need it. No one expects the Trust to execute the complicated task of fairly distributing billions of dollars without incurring costs. But the Fire Victim Trust has not been transparent about those costs. Fire survivors want and deserve timely, honest and clear explanations of where their settlement money is going, if not to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "One year after Pacific Gas and Electric Company emerged from bankruptcy, public records show that the special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute settlement money has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. And there are still unknowns around the trust's spending.",
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"title": "A Year After PG&E Left Bankruptcy, Spending by Fire Victim Trust Remains a Mystery | KQED",
"description": "One year after Pacific Gas and Electric Company emerged from bankruptcy, public records show that the special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute settlement money has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. And there are still unknowns around the trust's spending.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s been a year since Pacific Gas and Electric Company left Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That exit deal included a promised $13.5 billion settlement to pay victims of wildfires that were caused by the company’s equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal represented the culmination of a promise to fire survivors, PG&E interim CEO Bill Smith \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200701_pge_emerges_from_chapter_11\">declared\u003c/a> on July 1, 2020. “Today’s announcement is significant for PG&E and for the many wildfire victims who are now one step closer to getting paid,” he said. “Compensating these victims fairly and quickly has been our primary goal throughout these proceedings, and I am glad to say that today we funded the Fire Victim Trust for their benefit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a year later, public records show that a special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute the settlement has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084036887000&usg=AOvVaw0hyR-8qqeBfPKqldP6UYeX\">published an investigation\u003c/a> into spending by the Fire Victim Trust charged with compensating survivors. We found that in its first year, the trust had racked up $51 million in overhead, and distributed only $7 million to fire victims. Ninety percent of outgoing funds paid lawyers and consultants in 2020 while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pace of payments has picked up this year, but as of \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20982273-fvt-claims-data-report-63021-1\">June 30\u003c/a>, fewer than 3% of fire victims — 1,867 out of approximately 70,000 total — have had their claims fully processed. For now, they are getting 30% of what they were due while the Fire Victim Trust collects its fees in full. Approximately $436 million in compensation has been delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is still much we don’t know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, the Trust has refused to share its budget, a quarterly breakdown of expenses or a detailed reporting of firms and individuals the Trust has paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also refuses to make public other details we’ve requested, like the terms of its retention deal with attorneys \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">suing former PG&E directors and officers\u003c/a> on the Trust’s behalf. The attorney leading that lawsuit, Frank Pitre, happens to sit on the Fire Victim Trust’s court-appointed Trust Oversight Committee, as do representatives from three other law firms involved. KQED has been asking to review the Trust’s retention agreement with these attorneys since February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leading experts told us the amount of secrecy surrounding the Trust was unusual. “One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency,” Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar Board of Governors member and veteran bankruptcy attorney, told KQED in May. “One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After we published our May investigation, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is outrageous,” the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, “especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta’s office said it is unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Trust Says Our Reporting Is ‘Inaccurate and Uninformed.’ They Are Wrong.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the lawmakers demanded an investigation, both the Fire Victim Trust and the Trust Oversight Committee, made up primarily of mass tort attorneys, wrote to the attorney general and disputed our reporting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fire Victim Trust is led by retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, who KQED revealed billed $1,500 an hour. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">video\u003c/a> released in response to our story, he said he had reduced his compensation to a “very adequate” salary of $150,000 a month. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974605-trustee-letter-to-ag-bonta-5-27-21-executed-4\">letter\u003c/a> to the attorney general, Trotter said he was “appalled by the carelessness with which it [the legislators’ letter] was written.” Without naming KQED or NPR’s California Newsroom, Trotter continued: “It appears to be influenced by a recent, inaccurate and uninformed news report with no attempt to understand the Trust’s operation or function.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974607-trustoversightcommitteeletter&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084187566000&usg=AOvVaw0WGLrTJ-Rbvb9Ukj9L7Kpg\">letter\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee said the figures reported by KQED were “out-of-date or .. out of context.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both statements couldn’t be further from the truth, as the lengthy trail of emails between KQED and the Fire Victim Trust makes clear. We have made extensive efforts to understand the Trust’s operations and function, and have consistently brought our findings to them — through their spokespeople — so that they have the opportunity to comment and explain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite their public attacks on our journalism, we have yet to see any legitimate examples of inaccuracies in our reporting on the Trust’s finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As spelled out below, we have done our best to provide this accounting with the limited information in the public record. We welcome any and all additional transparency by the Trust into its spending and administration. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trustee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nNo attempt was made to understand the Trust’s operation or function. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’S Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe have gone to great lengths to familiarize ourselves with the Trust’s inner workings. We have combed through past bankruptcy court filings, hearing transcripts and correspondence from the Trust to fire victims. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve had dozens of contacts via email and by phone with the Trust’s PR firm asking detailed questions about our findings. We’ve also asked to interview the trustee, John Trotter, and the Trust’s claims administrator numerous times since our last interview with both in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also contacted all seven of the firms we identified as having been paid by the Trust. Just one responded to our inquiry. None answered questions about how much money they had received.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again, we would welcome greater transparency into how the Trust does its work and spends its money. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nStating that the Trust spent almost 90% of the funds on overhead during the first year is “untrue and misleading as stated. Ninety percent of the funds in the Trust would be over $10 billion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nKQED has been clear from the first story published on the Trust’s finances that overhead comprised almost 90% of funds spent \u003cem>in its first year\u003c/em>. We have never suggested that the Trust has spent $10 billion — or anything near that amount — on overhead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe statement that the Fire Victim Trust accumulated over $51 million in overhead costs but allocated just $7 million to fire survivors is “based on 2020 year end data, which is now five months old, even though the Trust has released more recent data regarding payments to survivors, which demonstrated a much different picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThat 2020 year-end data on overhead costs is the only information the Trust chose to share in its annual report, which was published four months after the end of the reporting period it chose. Since then, the Trust has continued to incur overhead expenses without reporting updated figures to the public. The Trust has regularly released updated information on payments to fire survivors, however, and KQED has used the most up-to-date figures in all of our reports. We see that the Fire Victim Trust has begun posting this information publicly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Documents.aspx\">its website\u003c/a> since we published our investigation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20792877/ltr-from-toc-to-legislature-re-fvt.pdf\">recent letter responding to state lawmakers\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee decided to come forward with the information we sought ahead of our story. Operating expenses through April of this year — pending an audit of April expenses — now top $84.5 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875085\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11875085\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, California, on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n“Many people worked between January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2020 to get the Trust off the ground but until July 1 it had no funds, save an advance of $15M made by PG&E in April 2020 to cover expenses incurred from January 1 forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe are clear in our story — and in fact, were first to report — about this “advance,” which amounts to millions of dollars paid toward startup costs in the first half of last year, which the Trust left out of its \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974645-fvt-2020-annual-report\">2020 Annual Report\u003c/a>. Most of PG&E’s advance was ultimately credited back to the company, with fire victims footing the rest of the bill. It remains unclear why these costs were not included in the Fire Victim Trust’s annual report, despite KQED’s efforts to get answers ahead of publication of our first story. By our calculation, the Trust spent at least $12.7 million during the first half of last year. The Trust refuses to engage with us to confirm this calculation. PG&E has confirmed it for us. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe Trust needed to build a robust staff to develop a claims resolution process and root out fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThis and other explanations for the initially slow pace of payments have been clearly laid out in all of our stories. Despite the Fire Victim Trust’s decision to limit transparency, we have made every effort to be fair and include voices explaining why the process is taking time — even when the Trust would not provide this voice itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We note that an important reason for delay stems from the fact that a significant portion of compensation for fire victims came in the form of stock in PG&E itself. This rare outcome was actively supported by most members of the Trust Oversight Committee last year, as we \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084358063000&usg=AOvVaw3wVoUySa0l_Tah06dyPGii\">reported then\u003c/a>. More importantly, fire victims themselves voiced these concerns as we reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11801571/fire-victims-ask-judge-to-reconsider-13-5-billion-pge-settlement&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084394101000&usg=AOvVaw0zrmC-iNt7w3FeZBIhOQEQ\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11808826/fire-survivor-resigns-in-protest-from-pge-bankruptcy-committee&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084415239000&usg=AOvVaw22qb8ieHkyWA6ze_uvRx0G\">here\u003c/a>. Today, the tiny fraction of fire victims who have had their claims processed and paid are getting just 30% of their claim for now. In the words of the trustee \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDLml9GEyg\">himself\u003c/a>: “We don’t know how much money we have because a substantial portion of the assets that are going to be used to pay you are in the form of common stock of Pacific Gas and Electric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every dollar spent on overhead is a dollar not distributed to fire victims who need it. No one expects the Trust to execute the complicated task of fairly distributing billions of dollars without incurring costs. But the Fire Victim Trust has not been transparent about those costs. Fire survivors want and deserve timely, honest and clear explanations of where their settlement money is going, if not to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Every time she sees smoke, she cries. She can’t heal until we can go home,\" Lindsay said of Erika, who was 7-years-old 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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875095\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1904px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11875095\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1904\" height=\"1004\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika.jpg 1904w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-800x422.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-1020x538.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-160x84.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1904px) 100vw, 1904px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teri Lindsay with daughter Erika, speaks at a rally in Paradise, Calif. on May 22, 2021. They lost their home in the 2018 Camp Fire. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lindsay said she was motivated to join this weekend’s rally after reading a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a>, 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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of last year, fire victims had received less than 0.1% of the approximately $13.5 billion they were promised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation=\"Teri Lindsay, Camp Fire Survivor\"]'I did not realize how well they're being paid and we’re living in squalor still.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Trotter, the retired California Appeals Court justice who runs the Fire Victim Trust, has declined KQED’s repeated interview requests. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX-ViYnWvfo\">YouTube video\u003c/a> released last week, he acknowledged the fire victims' frustration, but also predicted more delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"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.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11875085\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, Calif. on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>( Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>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 significant shareholders in the utility and has complicated the task of administering the Trust, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='fire-victims-trust']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since KQED’s investigation, members of Congress from both parties have demanded action. In separate emails, Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11873721/cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses\">both called\u003c/a> 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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883492/as-wildfire-survivors-await-settlement-fire-victim-trust-spends-51-million\">KQED Forum\u003c/a> this week, Gallagher said he and his colleagues were preparing a letter calling for more transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20707787-kirk-trostle-letter-to-judge-montali-regarding-fvt-5-12-21-3\">Judge Dennis Montali\u003c/a> on May 12, citing KQED's reporting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"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.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"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.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Every time she sees smoke, she cries. She can’t heal until we can go home,\" Lindsay said of Erika, who was 7-years-old 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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875095\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1904px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11875095\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1904\" height=\"1004\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika.jpg 1904w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-800x422.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-1020x538.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-160x84.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/TeriErika-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1904px) 100vw, 1904px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teri Lindsay with daughter Erika, speaks at a rally in Paradise, Calif. on May 22, 2021. They lost their home in the 2018 Camp Fire. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lindsay said she was motivated to join this weekend’s rally after reading a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a>, 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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of last year, fire victims had received less than 0.1% of the approximately $13.5 billion they were promised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Trotter, the retired California Appeals Court justice who runs the Fire Victim Trust, has declined KQED’s repeated interview requests. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX-ViYnWvfo\">YouTube video\u003c/a> released last week, he acknowledged the fire victims' frustration, but also predicted more delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"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.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11875085\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-160x90.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, Calif. on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>( Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>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 significant shareholders in the utility and has complicated the task of administering the Trust, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since KQED’s investigation, members of Congress from both parties have demanded action. In separate emails, Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11873721/cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses\">both called\u003c/a> 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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883492/as-wildfire-survivors-await-settlement-fire-victim-trust-spends-51-million\">KQED Forum\u003c/a> this week, Gallagher said he and his colleagues were preparing a letter calling for more transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20707787-kirk-trostle-letter-to-judge-montali-regarding-fvt-5-12-21-3\">Judge Dennis Montali\u003c/a> on May 12, citing KQED's reporting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"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.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"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.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final.png\" alt='A Mark Fiore cartoon highlighting the outrageous $1,500 hourly rate of John Trotter, trustee of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Titled \"Untrustworthy.\"' width=\"1920\" height=\"1263\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11873994\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-800x526.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-1020x671.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-160x105.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-1536x1010.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fire Victim Trust created to distribute billions of dollars to families displaced by wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment is facing \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/fiorefirevictimtrusttrotter\">growing criticism\u003c/a> after it spent $51 billion on overhead expenses last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a>, we know that the chief administrator of the trust, John Trotter, is billing $1,500 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Note to trustees and claims managers everywhere: don’t pay yourselves $1,500 and $1,250 an hour respectively from the victim fund while thousands are waiting for any payout at all, two years after getting burned out of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the winner of the Tone-Deafness-of-the-Year Award appears to be claims administrator Cathy Yanni, who \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/california-wildfires-pge-fire-victim-trust-2017-north-bay-2018-camp/10617113/\">told ABC-7 News\u003c/a> that, “lawyers who are lawyers as long as I’ve been a lawyer with my background… those are the kind of rates that we charge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final.png\" alt='A Mark Fiore cartoon highlighting the outrageous $1,500 hourly rate of John Trotter, trustee of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Titled \"Untrustworthy.\"' width=\"1920\" height=\"1263\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11873994\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-800x526.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-1020x671.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-160x105.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/victimtrust_051721_final-1536x1010.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fire Victim Trust created to distribute billions of dollars to families displaced by wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment is facing \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/fiorefirevictimtrusttrotter\">growing criticism\u003c/a> after it spent $51 billion on overhead expenses last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a>, we know that the chief administrator of the trust, John Trotter, is billing $1,500 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Note to trustees and claims managers everywhere: don’t pay yourselves $1,500 and $1,250 an hour respectively from the victim fund while thousands are waiting for any payout at all, two years after getting burned out of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the winner of the Tone-Deafness-of-the-Year Award appears to be claims administrator Cathy Yanni, who \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/california-wildfires-pge-fire-victim-trust-2017-north-bay-2018-camp/10617113/\">told ABC-7 News\u003c/a> that, “lawyers who are lawyers as long as I’ve been a lawyer with my background… those are the kind of rates that we charge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Fire victims and public officials are calling for increased oversight of the Fire Victim Trust set up to distribute billions of dollars in compensation to families displaced by fires sparked by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equipment. That’s following a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a>, which found the Trust spent $51 million on overhead last year, while the vast majority of fire victims haven’t received a dime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Kirk Trostle – a retired police chief who lost his home when the PG&E-sparked Camp Fire destroyed Paradise in 2018 – petitioned a federal judge to intervene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The administrative expenses are out of control,” Trostle \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20707787-kirk-trostle-letter-to-judge-montali-regarding-fvt-5-12-21-3\">wrote\u003c/a> to Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali, who has been overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy proceedings, which led to the promise of $13.5 billion to be paid to 67,000 fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Families are still living in cars, travel trailers, and FEMA trailers,” Trostle wrote Montali.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The multi-billion dollar settlement was announced in December 2019. At the end of the following year, KQED found, the Trust had paid out just $7 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11872328 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Bill-Cook-Home-1020x670.jpg']“Stating fire victims are languishing is an understatement,” Trostle added. “I request you speed up the process to a sprint-like manner and direct the [Fire Victim Trust] to provide transparency and accountability in the administration of the fire victims money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judge Montali did not respond to KQED’s request for an interview. His assistant said his consistent practice is to decline such requests in an active pending case. The administrator of the Trust, John Trotter, whom KQED found \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873-m034139804869-rep-1404090738?responsive=1&title=1\">billed $1,500 an hour\u003c/a> while victims waited, has declined repeated requests to comment. The top claims administrator, Cathy Yanni, makes $1,250 an hour, records show, and the Trust has spent millions more on a host of legal and financial advisers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trostle’s petition comes amid a cascade of outrage following KQED’s investigation — from lawmakers, legal experts and fire survivors themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11873745\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11873745\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1442\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-800x601.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-1020x766.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-1536x1154.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kirk Trostle, a retired police chief who lost his home when the PG&E-sparked Camp Fire destroyed Paradise in 2018, with his wife, Patty. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Kirk Trostle)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat who represents Napa County and parts of Sonoma County, where thousands of fire survivors are also waiting for compensation, said the disparity uncovered by KQED “has a real and negative impact on people in our district who survived the fires and are still working to rebuild their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fire survivors have already been through so much and all parties involved must do everything they can to make survivors whole as fast as possible,” he said. A spokesperson for Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the senator is tracking the issue closely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican who represents Paradise, also expressed outrage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No victims’ compensation fund should see $1,500-an-hour lawyers, $1,250-an-hour administrators, and government taxes delaying disbursements or taking the lion’s share,” LaMalfa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The victims of the fire are our priority. The settlement has been made and agreed to. Two years and $50 million is way too much time and overhead. This trustee-led process needs the trust put back in as it seems to have lost the focus on the victims who quickly need these funds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11873739 aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"1460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg 1149w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-800x1017.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-1020x1296.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-160x203.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\">\u003c/a>Meantime, in the state Legislature, Assemblyman James Gallagher, a Republican who represents Paradise, went on Facebook, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/AssemblymanJamesGallagher/posts/2549431628685045\">posting\u003c/a> that KQED’s story “raises a lot of questions and concerns that need answers, both from the trustee and the bankruptcy court.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s really the bankruptcy court that needs to take action,” Gallagher told KQED. He also said it was time for Gov. Gavin Newsom to get involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Seeing victims are not getting compensated in a timely fashion — that should rise to the top level,” Gallagher said. “[Newsom] is certainly commenting about a lot of things here lately. I would hope that this would be a top priority as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office declined to comment. “We do not have any information to provide at this time,” said Amelia Matier, a spokesperson for Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The structure of the Trust has been controversial from the outset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tell me why I shouldn’t think this is just a risk to have a very large amount of money be paid out without any kind of control over what happens,” Judge Montali said at a hearing last April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But attorneys representing fire victims pleaded with Montali to approve Trotter’s appointment. Minutes later, Montali relented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A major complicating factor in distributing claims is the fact that so much of the compensation to victims came in the form of PG&E stock, the value of which fluctuates daily. Once touted as worth $13.5 billion, today the amount available to pay victims is substantially less, thanks to the company’s flagging fortunes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='pge']The fund is currently worth around $11 billion, with a final infusion of $700 million in cash from PG&E expected after the current fire season — in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one is slacking,” said Amy Bach, a consumer advocate on the Trust Oversight Committee. Other than Bach, the committee is exclusively comprised of mass tort attorneys despite calls for fire survivors to have a seat as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, a spokesperson for the Fire Victim Trust said the Trust has increased its payments, and has so far distributed a total of $195.2 million to people who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to fires caused by PG&E. The spokesperson also said the Trust had made preliminary payments averaging about $13,000 to 9,532 of the 67,170 eligible families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, that comes to less than 2% of the $13.5 billion promised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem is there are just a lot of claims and there’s a lot going down,” Bach said. “It’s hard for me to think there couldn’t have been some things to streamline, but with all the constraints that are on the team issuing payments and determinations, they seem to be extremely hamstrung by orders and legal agreements that were made a long time ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trostle had a front-row seat to discussions that led to the controversial settlement deal struck between PG&E and lawyers for fire victims in December 2019. At the time, he served on an 11-person committee representing fire survivors in PG&E’s most recent bankruptcy. But as it came time for fire victims to vote on the settlement last year, Trostle took the extraordinary step of resigning from the committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E’s reorganization plan is deeply flawed and very risky for all fire victims,” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11808826/fire-survivor-resigns-in-protest-from-pge-bankruptcy-committee\">wrote in his resignation letter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He explained he had been advised by lawyers for the committee that speaking out would conflict with his duty to his fellow fire survivors. So he quit. He has since relocated to Tennessee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is a collaborative project of NPR’s California Newsroom, including Northern California Public Media, CapRadio and KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fire victims and public officials are calling for increased oversight of the Fire Victim Trust set up to distribute billions of dollars in compensation to families displaced by fires sparked by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equipment. That’s following a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a>, which found the Trust spent $51 million on overhead last year, while the vast majority of fire victims haven’t received a dime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Kirk Trostle – a retired police chief who lost his home when the PG&E-sparked Camp Fire destroyed Paradise in 2018 – petitioned a federal judge to intervene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The administrative expenses are out of control,” Trostle \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20707787-kirk-trostle-letter-to-judge-montali-regarding-fvt-5-12-21-3\">wrote\u003c/a> to Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali, who has been overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy proceedings, which led to the promise of $13.5 billion to be paid to 67,000 fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Families are still living in cars, travel trailers, and FEMA trailers,” Trostle wrote Montali.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The multi-billion dollar settlement was announced in December 2019. At the end of the following year, KQED found, the Trust had paid out just $7 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Stating fire victims are languishing is an understatement,” Trostle added. “I request you speed up the process to a sprint-like manner and direct the [Fire Victim Trust] to provide transparency and accountability in the administration of the fire victims money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judge Montali did not respond to KQED’s request for an interview. His assistant said his consistent practice is to decline such requests in an active pending case. The administrator of the Trust, John Trotter, whom KQED found \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873-m034139804869-rep-1404090738?responsive=1&title=1\">billed $1,500 an hour\u003c/a> while victims waited, has declined repeated requests to comment. The top claims administrator, Cathy Yanni, makes $1,250 an hour, records show, and the Trust has spent millions more on a host of legal and financial advisers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trostle’s petition comes amid a cascade of outrage following KQED’s investigation — from lawmakers, legal experts and fire survivors themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11873745\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11873745\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1442\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-800x601.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-1020x766.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Trostle-1536x1154.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kirk Trostle, a retired police chief who lost his home when the PG&E-sparked Camp Fire destroyed Paradise in 2018, with his wife, Patty. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Kirk Trostle)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat who represents Napa County and parts of Sonoma County, where thousands of fire survivors are also waiting for compensation, said the disparity uncovered by KQED “has a real and negative impact on people in our district who survived the fires and are still working to rebuild their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fire survivors have already been through so much and all parties involved must do everything they can to make survivors whole as fast as possible,” he said. A spokesperson for Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the senator is tracking the issue closely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican who represents Paradise, also expressed outrage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No victims’ compensation fund should see $1,500-an-hour lawyers, $1,250-an-hour administrators, and government taxes delaying disbursements or taking the lion’s share,” LaMalfa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The victims of the fire are our priority. The settlement has been made and agreed to. Two years and $50 million is way too much time and overhead. This trustee-led process needs the trust put back in as it seems to have lost the focus on the victims who quickly need these funds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11873739 aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"1460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg 1149w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-800x1017.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-1020x1296.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-160x203.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\">\u003c/a>Meantime, in the state Legislature, Assemblyman James Gallagher, a Republican who represents Paradise, went on Facebook, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/AssemblymanJamesGallagher/posts/2549431628685045\">posting\u003c/a> that KQED’s story “raises a lot of questions and concerns that need answers, both from the trustee and the bankruptcy court.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s really the bankruptcy court that needs to take action,” Gallagher told KQED. He also said it was time for Gov. Gavin Newsom to get involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Seeing victims are not getting compensated in a timely fashion — that should rise to the top level,” Gallagher said. “[Newsom] is certainly commenting about a lot of things here lately. I would hope that this would be a top priority as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office declined to comment. “We do not have any information to provide at this time,” said Amelia Matier, a spokesperson for Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The structure of the Trust has been controversial from the outset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tell me why I shouldn’t think this is just a risk to have a very large amount of money be paid out without any kind of control over what happens,” Judge Montali said at a hearing last April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But attorneys representing fire victims pleaded with Montali to approve Trotter’s appointment. Minutes later, Montali relented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A major complicating factor in distributing claims is the fact that so much of the compensation to victims came in the form of PG&E stock, the value of which fluctuates daily. Once touted as worth $13.5 billion, today the amount available to pay victims is substantially less, thanks to the company’s flagging fortunes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The fund is currently worth around $11 billion, with a final infusion of $700 million in cash from PG&E expected after the current fire season — in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one is slacking,” said Amy Bach, a consumer advocate on the Trust Oversight Committee. Other than Bach, the committee is exclusively comprised of mass tort attorneys despite calls for fire survivors to have a seat as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, a spokesperson for the Fire Victim Trust said the Trust has increased its payments, and has so far distributed a total of $195.2 million to people who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to fires caused by PG&E. The spokesperson also said the Trust had made preliminary payments averaging about $13,000 to 9,532 of the 67,170 eligible families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, that comes to less than 2% of the $13.5 billion promised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem is there are just a lot of claims and there’s a lot going down,” Bach said. “It’s hard for me to think there couldn’t have been some things to streamline, but with all the constraints that are on the team issuing payments and determinations, they seem to be extremely hamstrung by orders and legal agreements that were made a long time ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trostle had a front-row seat to discussions that led to the controversial settlement deal struck between PG&E and lawyers for fire victims in December 2019. At the time, he served on an 11-person committee representing fire survivors in PG&E’s most recent bankruptcy. But as it came time for fire victims to vote on the settlement last year, Trostle took the extraordinary step of resigning from the committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E’s reorganization plan is deeply flawed and very risky for all fire victims,” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11808826/fire-survivor-resigns-in-protest-from-pge-bankruptcy-committee\">wrote in his resignation letter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He explained he had been advised by lawyers for the committee that speaking out would conflict with his duty to his fellow fire survivors. So he quit. He has since relocated to Tennessee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is a collaborative project of NPR’s California Newsroom, including Northern California Public Media, CapRadio and KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Survivors Stuck in Limbo as PG&E Fire Victim Trust Pays Out $50 Million in Fees",
"title": "Survivors Stuck in Limbo as PG&E Fire Victim Trust Pays Out $50 Million in Fees",
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"content": "\u003cp>Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer Bill Cook lost his home in Paradise during the Camp Fire, the 2018 blaze \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824596/pge-pleads-guilty-to-84-deaths-in-wildfire-that-destroyed-paradise\">sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment\u003c/a> that ranks as the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than two years later, Cook, 70, and his family are barely scraping by. Like Cook, the vast majority of the 67,000 PG&E fire victims included in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11791785/pge-axes-requirement-for-newsom-to-ok-13-5-billion-settlement-with-wildfire-victims\">December 2019 settlement\u003c/a> with the company have yet to see a dime. That's as lawyers and administrators have been paid millions, with the money coming directly from funds set aside to help survivors like Cook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Bill Cook, Camp Fire survivor\"]'They're paying themselves very well... It’s like everything is a black hole and nothing moves, and there’s nothing you can do about it.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A KQED investigation found that while they waited, a special Fire Victim Trust in charge of compensating survivors racked up $51 million in overhead costs last year. During that same period, the Trust disbursed just $7 million to fire victims – less than 0.1% of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/07/785775074/pg-e-announces-13-5-billion-settlement-of-claims-linked-to-california-wildfires\">$13.5 billion promised\u003c/a> – according to an analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between staff of the Fire Victim Trust and the victims themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During its first year of operation, the Trust spent nearly 90% of its funds on overhead, while fire victims waited for help, KQED found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Cook lives 100 miles away from Paradise in Davis, where he shares a three-bedroom rental with his 68-year-old wife, Leslie, their four adult children and three grandchildren. He’s eaten into his savings to pay rent, which costs triple what he paid for his mortgage in Paradise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You’re stuck,\" Cook said. \"You can’t go anywhere. You can’t get anything. You can’t move forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11872334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11872334\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1436\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-800x598.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-1020x763.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-1536x1149.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bill Cook sits at a table in the three-bedroom rental home in Davis where he now lives with his wife, Leslie, their four adult children including Evan (left) and their three grandchildren. The family used paper dividers in the den to create another bedroom. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bill Cook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Representatives for the Fire Victim Trust declined to be interviewed. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698865-m034140771109-rep-2904080931?responsive=1&title=1\">annual report\u003c/a> filed in federal bankruptcy court last week by its trustee, John Trotter, reported $38.7 million spent on financial professionals, claims administrators, consultants and other operating expenses between July 1 and the end of 2020. Documents reviewed by KQED show the Trust took in an additional $12.7 million in funding provided by PG&E \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873-m034139804869-rep-1404090738?responsive=1&title=1\">last Spring\u003c/a> – cash spent to set up the claims process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter, a retired California Appeals Court judge, charges $1,500 an hour, according to another court \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873-m034139804869-rep-1404090738?responsive=1&title=1\">filing\u003c/a>, while claims administrator Cathy Yanni bills $1,250 an hour. Both work at Irvine-based JAMS, previously known as Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc, one of the nation's largest private dispute resolution provider firms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They're paying themselves very well. They have these enormous legal costs and there's not much to show for it,\" Cook said. \"It’s like everything is a black hole and nothing moves, and there’s nothing you can do about it.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11872556\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"1460\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpg 1149w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-800x1017.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-1020x1296.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-160x203.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, Yanni told KQED she expected it would take two years to pay all victims with claims. Some fire survivors fear it will take much longer. The longer it takes, the higher the cost of overhead will be. Trotter wrote in April, in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20699521-letter_from_the_trustee_4-12-21?responsive=1&title=1\">letter addressed to fire victims\u003c/a>, that past claims processes he’s overseen ended up costing between 2% and 4% of overall funds, on average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My goal is to keep the cost of administration below or as close to 1% as possible,\" Trotter wrote of the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E announced its plans to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2019, 10 weeks after its equipment sparked the Camp Fire, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824596/pge-pleads-guilty-to-84-deaths-in-wildfire-that-destroyed-paradise\">killed at least 85 people\u003c/a> and destroyed almost 19,000 homes and businesses in and around Paradise. The settlement with tens of thousands of fire victims resulted from those proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11833283 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/08/PGE-Subcontractors-Inspect-1038x576.jpg']There were concerns about overhead expenses as early as last Spring, when U.S. bankruptcy judge Dennis Montali mulled whether to approve startup costs for the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Tell me why I shouldn't think this is just a risk to have a very large amount of money be paid out without any kind of control over what happens,\" Montali said at a hearing last April. Attorneys representing fire victims pleaded with Montali to approve Trotter’s appointment. Minutes later, Montali relented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Montali was encouraged to greenlight the overhead by some of the fire victims’ own attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gerald Singleton, an attorney who represents 6,500 fire victims and sits on the Fire Victim Trust Oversight Committee’s budget subcommittee, said he’s not concerned about the Trust’s overhead. \"When you’re talking about what they have to do, I certainly think the money is reasonable,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The amounts they make are phenomenal. They're just incredible amounts,\" Singleton said. \"But that's what people at their level make.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singleton agreed that the payments to victims have trickled out slowly, but he said the pace is picking up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar governor and veteran bankruptcy attorney told KQED the amounts are excessive for the meager results obtained so far and that the Trust \"has been completely non-transparent about what it’s doing for this money.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency,\" he said. \"One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process has been complicated by the terms of PG&E’s settlement with fire victims, which was funded half with cash and half with PG&E stock. The complicated arrangement, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil\">which has few precedents\u003c/a>, made the fire victims major shareholders in the utility and made administering the Trust far more complicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Fire Victims Trust told KQED the Trust had increased its payments to families this year and had now put $195.2 million into the hands of those who lost loved ones, homes and businesses lost to fires caused by PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That figure still comes to less than 2% of the amount promised to families when they voted on the settlement last year. The spokesman also said the Trust had begun to make partial payments to a small percentage of families. Those partial payments, which average approximately $13,000, have gone to 9,532 of the 67,170 eligible families, a spokesperson for the Trust said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only 334 families have had their claims fully processed. Those families are \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210312005517/en/Fire-Victim-Trust-to-Begin-Making-First-Pro-Rata-Payments-to-Fire-Victims\">getting 30% of what they’re owed\u003c/a>, the Trust said, while the Trust collects its own fees in full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11872435\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11872435\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Pre-fire-Exterior-cook.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Pre-fire-Exterior-cook.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Pre-fire-Exterior-cook-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The exterior of Bill Cook's family home in Paradise before it was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018. Two and a half years later, Cook and his family are barely scraping by, and haven't seen a dime from the Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bill Cook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Who's Getting Paid\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The Trust’s annual report is short on details about who got paid, and how much. It reports operating expenses solely by category – $16.3 million “claims processor fees and expenses,” for example, and $6.8 million for “insurance, data and other expenses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust declined to provide KQED with a list of companies it is working with and what it has paid them. But KQED’s review of documents identified more than half a dozen law firms and financial institutions that have profited off the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the Trust told fire victims in an April letter that it had retained Richmond, Virginia-based BrownGreer for claims processing. John Trotter, the trustee, wrote that the firm, which specializes in resolving complex legal settlements, had 300 staff members \"committed to this project, including attorneys, project managers, analysts, claim reviewers, and software developers,\" and was adding staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also tallied $6.2 million in legal fees during the period. Again, the Trust refused to provide an accounting of this work. Last year, Trotter retained the firm \u003ca href=\"https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/pge/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=NDAxNjA3&id2=0\">Brown Rudnick\u003c/a> to represent him in bankruptcy court, and \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M344/K182/344182620.PDF\">Morgan Lewis\u003c/a> to represent him at the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='pge']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Financial advisers have been paid $3 million. The Trust has retained the services of \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Letter_from_the_Trustee.pdf\">Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey\u003c/a> to monetize its vast holdings of PG&E stock, according to a January letter Trotter wrote to fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also listed $303,706 in unspecified consulting fees. The Trust’s public relations firm, Zumado, would not elaborate on what those fees entailed. Zumado also refused to comment on how much it has been paid by the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The accounting firm BDO \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Fire_Victim_Trust_Annual_Report_2020.pdf\">prepared\u003c/a> the Trust’s annual report. Again, no one was willing to share any records about how much they were paid for that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED contacted all the firms, seeking confirmation that they received money from the Trust, and asking how much. BDO was the only one to respond but declined to answer questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Falling Short by Design?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As PG&E approached the end of its bankruptcy last year, Singleton and several other mass tort attorneys were busy persuading their fire victim clients to vote in favor of the complicated part-stock settlement. Some fire survivors \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11801571/fire-victims-ask-judge-to-reconsider-13-5-billion-pge-settlement\">wrote to Judge Montali\u003c/a> expressing outrage at the idea of accepting stock in the company that harmed them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the stock component, the value of the Trust fluctuates every day. So far, the Fire Victim Trust’s financial advisers haven’t liquidated any shares as the stock price has languished. Today, the Trust holds almost a quarter of all PG&E shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Camp Fire survivor Mary Wallace was among a group of fire survivors who fought against the stock component last year. At the time, she argued in court it would slow down the process of compensating victims. To her, those concerns have come home to roost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We’re still living in squalor,\" said Wallace, who lives in a shed with no insulation on her property in Paradise. \"We still don’t have anything. It’s beyond belief. I am thoroughly disappointed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wallace said she grew so disillusioned with the process, she abandoned her claim altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is a collaborative project of NPR’s California Newsroom, including Northern California Public Media, CapRadio and KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer Bill Cook lost his home in Paradise during the Camp Fire, the 2018 blaze \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824596/pge-pleads-guilty-to-84-deaths-in-wildfire-that-destroyed-paradise\">sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment\u003c/a> that ranks as the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than two years later, Cook, 70, and his family are barely scraping by. Like Cook, the vast majority of the 67,000 PG&E fire victims included in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11791785/pge-axes-requirement-for-newsom-to-ok-13-5-billion-settlement-with-wildfire-victims\">December 2019 settlement\u003c/a> with the company have yet to see a dime. That's as lawyers and administrators have been paid millions, with the money coming directly from funds set aside to help survivors like Cook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A KQED investigation found that while they waited, a special Fire Victim Trust in charge of compensating survivors racked up $51 million in overhead costs last year. During that same period, the Trust disbursed just $7 million to fire victims – less than 0.1% of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/07/785775074/pg-e-announces-13-5-billion-settlement-of-claims-linked-to-california-wildfires\">$13.5 billion promised\u003c/a> – according to an analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between staff of the Fire Victim Trust and the victims themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During its first year of operation, the Trust spent nearly 90% of its funds on overhead, while fire victims waited for help, KQED found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Cook lives 100 miles away from Paradise in Davis, where he shares a three-bedroom rental with his 68-year-old wife, Leslie, their four adult children and three grandchildren. He’s eaten into his savings to pay rent, which costs triple what he paid for his mortgage in Paradise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You’re stuck,\" Cook said. \"You can’t go anywhere. You can’t get anything. You can’t move forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11872334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11872334\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1436\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-800x598.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-1020x763.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Cook-Living-Room-Davis-1536x1149.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bill Cook sits at a table in the three-bedroom rental home in Davis where he now lives with his wife, Leslie, their four adult children including Evan (left) and their three grandchildren. The family used paper dividers in the den to create another bedroom. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bill Cook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Representatives for the Fire Victim Trust declined to be interviewed. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698865-m034140771109-rep-2904080931?responsive=1&title=1\">annual report\u003c/a> filed in federal bankruptcy court last week by its trustee, John Trotter, reported $38.7 million spent on financial professionals, claims administrators, consultants and other operating expenses between July 1 and the end of 2020. Documents reviewed by KQED show the Trust took in an additional $12.7 million in funding provided by PG&E \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873-m034139804869-rep-1404090738?responsive=1&title=1\">last Spring\u003c/a> – cash spent to set up the claims process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter, a retired California Appeals Court judge, charges $1,500 an hour, according to another court \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873-m034139804869-rep-1404090738?responsive=1&title=1\">filing\u003c/a>, while claims administrator Cathy Yanni bills $1,250 an hour. Both work at Irvine-based JAMS, previously known as Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc, one of the nation's largest private dispute resolution provider firms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They're paying themselves very well. They have these enormous legal costs and there's not much to show for it,\" Cook said. \"It’s like everything is a black hole and nothing moves, and there’s nothing you can do about it.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11872556\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"1460\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpg 1149w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-800x1017.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-1020x1296.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-160x203.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, Yanni told KQED she expected it would take two years to pay all victims with claims. Some fire survivors fear it will take much longer. The longer it takes, the higher the cost of overhead will be. Trotter wrote in April, in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20699521-letter_from_the_trustee_4-12-21?responsive=1&title=1\">letter addressed to fire victims\u003c/a>, that past claims processes he’s overseen ended up costing between 2% and 4% of overall funds, on average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My goal is to keep the cost of administration below or as close to 1% as possible,\" Trotter wrote of the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E announced its plans to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2019, 10 weeks after its equipment sparked the Camp Fire, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824596/pge-pleads-guilty-to-84-deaths-in-wildfire-that-destroyed-paradise\">killed at least 85 people\u003c/a> and destroyed almost 19,000 homes and businesses in and around Paradise. The settlement with tens of thousands of fire victims resulted from those proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There were concerns about overhead expenses as early as last Spring, when U.S. bankruptcy judge Dennis Montali mulled whether to approve startup costs for the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Tell me why I shouldn't think this is just a risk to have a very large amount of money be paid out without any kind of control over what happens,\" Montali said at a hearing last April. Attorneys representing fire victims pleaded with Montali to approve Trotter’s appointment. Minutes later, Montali relented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Montali was encouraged to greenlight the overhead by some of the fire victims’ own attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gerald Singleton, an attorney who represents 6,500 fire victims and sits on the Fire Victim Trust Oversight Committee’s budget subcommittee, said he’s not concerned about the Trust’s overhead. \"When you’re talking about what they have to do, I certainly think the money is reasonable,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The amounts they make are phenomenal. They're just incredible amounts,\" Singleton said. \"But that's what people at their level make.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singleton agreed that the payments to victims have trickled out slowly, but he said the pace is picking up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar governor and veteran bankruptcy attorney told KQED the amounts are excessive for the meager results obtained so far and that the Trust \"has been completely non-transparent about what it’s doing for this money.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency,\" he said. \"One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process has been complicated by the terms of PG&E’s settlement with fire victims, which was funded half with cash and half with PG&E stock. The complicated arrangement, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil\">which has few precedents\u003c/a>, made the fire victims major shareholders in the utility and made administering the Trust far more complicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Fire Victims Trust told KQED the Trust had increased its payments to families this year and had now put $195.2 million into the hands of those who lost loved ones, homes and businesses lost to fires caused by PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That figure still comes to less than 2% of the amount promised to families when they voted on the settlement last year. The spokesman also said the Trust had begun to make partial payments to a small percentage of families. Those partial payments, which average approximately $13,000, have gone to 9,532 of the 67,170 eligible families, a spokesperson for the Trust said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only 334 families have had their claims fully processed. Those families are \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210312005517/en/Fire-Victim-Trust-to-Begin-Making-First-Pro-Rata-Payments-to-Fire-Victims\">getting 30% of what they’re owed\u003c/a>, the Trust said, while the Trust collects its own fees in full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11872435\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11872435\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Pre-fire-Exterior-cook.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Pre-fire-Exterior-cook.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Pre-fire-Exterior-cook-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The exterior of Bill Cook's family home in Paradise before it was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018. Two and a half years later, Cook and his family are barely scraping by, and haven't seen a dime from the Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bill Cook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Who's Getting Paid\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The Trust’s annual report is short on details about who got paid, and how much. It reports operating expenses solely by category – $16.3 million “claims processor fees and expenses,” for example, and $6.8 million for “insurance, data and other expenses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust declined to provide KQED with a list of companies it is working with and what it has paid them. But KQED’s review of documents identified more than half a dozen law firms and financial institutions that have profited off the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the Trust told fire victims in an April letter that it had retained Richmond, Virginia-based BrownGreer for claims processing. John Trotter, the trustee, wrote that the firm, which specializes in resolving complex legal settlements, had 300 staff members \"committed to this project, including attorneys, project managers, analysts, claim reviewers, and software developers,\" and was adding staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also tallied $6.2 million in legal fees during the period. Again, the Trust refused to provide an accounting of this work. Last year, Trotter retained the firm \u003ca href=\"https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/pge/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=NDAxNjA3&id2=0\">Brown Rudnick\u003c/a> to represent him in bankruptcy court, and \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M344/K182/344182620.PDF\">Morgan Lewis\u003c/a> to represent him at the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Financial advisers have been paid $3 million. The Trust has retained the services of \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Letter_from_the_Trustee.pdf\">Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey\u003c/a> to monetize its vast holdings of PG&E stock, according to a January letter Trotter wrote to fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also listed $303,706 in unspecified consulting fees. The Trust’s public relations firm, Zumado, would not elaborate on what those fees entailed. Zumado also refused to comment on how much it has been paid by the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The accounting firm BDO \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Fire_Victim_Trust_Annual_Report_2020.pdf\">prepared\u003c/a> the Trust’s annual report. Again, no one was willing to share any records about how much they were paid for that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED contacted all the firms, seeking confirmation that they received money from the Trust, and asking how much. BDO was the only one to respond but declined to answer questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Falling Short by Design?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As PG&E approached the end of its bankruptcy last year, Singleton and several other mass tort attorneys were busy persuading their fire victim clients to vote in favor of the complicated part-stock settlement. Some fire survivors \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11801571/fire-victims-ask-judge-to-reconsider-13-5-billion-pge-settlement\">wrote to Judge Montali\u003c/a> expressing outrage at the idea of accepting stock in the company that harmed them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the stock component, the value of the Trust fluctuates every day. So far, the Fire Victim Trust’s financial advisers haven’t liquidated any shares as the stock price has languished. Today, the Trust holds almost a quarter of all PG&E shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Camp Fire survivor Mary Wallace was among a group of fire survivors who fought against the stock component last year. At the time, she argued in court it would slow down the process of compensating victims. To her, those concerns have come home to roost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We’re still living in squalor,\" said Wallace, who lives in a shed with no insulation on her property in Paradise. \"We still don’t have anything. It’s beyond belief. I am thoroughly disappointed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wallace said she grew so disillusioned with the process, she abandoned her claim altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is a collaborative project of NPR’s California Newsroom, including Northern California Public Media, CapRadio and KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"id": "here-and-now",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
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