Eaton Fire Survivors to Edison: “Fix What You Broke”
Hundreds of Survivors Collaborate on Community Response to Edison’s Draft Plan
ALTADENA, California （October 9, 2025) — Nearly a year after the Eaton Fire tore through their neighborhoods, more than 200 survivors contributed to Powering L.A.’s Recovery Starts with Edison — the survivor community’s response to Southern California Edison’s Draft Wildfire Recovery Compensation Protocol.
Presented today at a survivor-led press conference, the 51-page report draws from hundreds of firsthand accounts — from homeowners, renters, small business owners, and families who lost not only property but stability, health, and community.
The report cites Los Angeles Times data showing that after California’s five most destructive wildfires, only 38% of homes were rebuilt within five years. Two factors made the difference: insurance payments, and — when a utility was at fault — utility payments. Where those payments were fair and timely, communities recovered. Where they were delayed or inadequate, neighborhoods never came back.
Survivors warned that Los Angeles now faces the same crossroads — and that Edison’s current draft plan risks repeating the failures that left other towns permanently hollowed out.
“This isn’t about blame — it’s about fairness and reasonableness. We call on Edison to honor its moral and legal duty to fix what it broke,” said Joy Chen, Executive Director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network. “Edison’s draft plan would pay most Eaton Fire survivors only a fraction of what PG&E paid its Camp Fire victims — and PG&E was bankrupt. Edison is solvent, profitable, and backed by the California Wildfire Fund. For it to offer less than a bankrupt company did is indefensible.”
Voices from the Frontline
Survivors spoke about the deep and lasting damage of displacement, financial hardship, and unaddressed trauma — and the urgent need for Edison to meet its responsibilities fully and fairly.
“Nine months after the fire, for many of us, the trauma only grows,” said Zaire Calvin, who lost two homes and a sister in the fire. “Families are draining retirement accounts and maxing out credit cards just to keep a roof over their heads. People are depending on their Edison payouts. We want to be sure the most vulnerable aren’t pressured into inadequate offers.”
“Edison’s draft mirrors the same patterns that already failed us under insurance — narrow eligibility, arbitrary caps, and fine print that protects itself at the expense of the survivors it must make whole,” said Andrew Wessels, Strategy Director for EFSN. “Edison is not an insurer. It’s the wrongdoer. Its duty isn’t defined by policy language; it’s defined by the harm it caused.”
“Under Edison’s proposal, children are valued at half or even a quarter of adults — even though they carry the deepest trauma and longest recovery,” said Krista Copelan, EFSN Discord Health & Safety Mod and Standing Structures Facebook Group Admin. “Renters and smoke-damaged households are offered token sums while their homes remain toxic. And Edison relies on a firefighter map to exclude thousands of survivors — even though CAL FIRE explicitly warned it should never be used to decide who qualifies for recovery assistance. Every survivor counts.”
“It wasn’t just homes that burned,” said Ursula Hyman, a community leader serving on four local nonprofit boards. “It was churches, schools, and the gathering places that gave this community its soul. Rebuilding must mean restoring those bonds. Edison has powered Los Angeles for generations. Now it must power our recovery — helping us rebuild not only our houses, but the communities that made them home.”
The Path Forward
The survivor community’s report lays out recommendations to help Edison create a fair, reasonable, and fully funded compensation program that closes the gap between insurance shortfalls and the true cost of rebuilding.
It calls on Edison to:
• Fix what you broke: Compensate all losses from Edison’s fire.
• Include everyone harmed: Value children, renters, and smoke-damaged homeowners equally.
• Pay for housing until we are home: Cover full living costs until survivors get back home.
Survivors emphasized that Edison’s plan is still a draft — and the company now has the chance to do what’s right: build a fair, fully funded program that helps survivors rebuild and powers the L.A. recovery.
