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KQED's Forum

As Wildfire Survivors Await Settlement, Fire Victim Trust Spends $51 Million

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6656 Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2021

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Fire Victim Trust in charge of compensating Camp fire survivors spent $51 million in overhead expenses in 2020. The Trust disbursed just $7 million to fire victims in that same period of time, amounting to less than 0.1% of the $13.5 billion promised. That's according to a KQED analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between staff of the Fire Victim Trust and the victims themselves. We'll hear about the investigation and get an update on why so many fire survivors have yet to receive their settlement.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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1:01.3

I'm Lily Jamali.

1:02.7

Calls are growing for increased oversight of the fire victim trust set up to compensate survivors of fire spark by PG&E equipment.

1:12.7

That's after a KQED investigation found the trust spent $51 million on overhead expenses in its first year, while most fire

1:19.0

survivors haven't seen a dime. Then, at 930, as summer approaches, the danger is increasing

1:25.2

of high-risk power line starting more fires around the

1:28.3

state. We'll discuss where the Bay Area's riskiest power lines are and where to go for help

1:33.8

if the power line doesn't look right. That's next on Forum right after this news.

1:57.2

Welcome to Forum. I'm Lily Jamali. The fire victim trust is in charge of compensating survivors of some of the worst fires caused by PG&E equipment since 2015.

2:05.0

A KQED investigation found in 2020, the trust spent $51 million on overhead fees and expenses,

2:11.4

while $7 million went to victims that year. That's a fraction of the billion survivors were promised as part of a settlement with PG&E. In this segment, we're talking about the pace of

2:16.2

compensation from the fire victim

2:17.8

trust and just how much it's picked up this year. Joining us first is Sasha Poe, who lost her home

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