PG&E said it plans to use money from a $13.5 billion victims’ compensation trust to pay a fine stemming from its expected guilty plea to 84 counts of involuntary manslaugter and one count of unlawfully starting a fire â for the utility’s role in the devastating 2018 Camp Fire.
“The $4 million fine will be administered as part of the Fire Victim Trust,” PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paolo told KQED Wednesday. “The Fire Victim Trust administration process will begin when PG&E emerges from Chapter 11.”
PG&E announced Monday it had agreed to pay $3.48 million to the Butte County District Attorney’s office, plus $500,000 to reimburse expenses related to the criminal investigation into the blaze.
Marie Wehe was among the 85 people killed in the 2018 Camp Fire. (Courtesy of Steven Skikos)
PG&E’s latest move outraged fire victims, including Tommy Wehe, whose mother, Marie, was one of 85 people killed in the Camp Fire.
“They want me to pay for the fine for killing my mom,” Wehe said in a statement to KQED. “Their greed knows no end. We feel betrayed and we are emotionally and mentally broken by this case.”
“I have had it with these criminals. No one is going to jail. Why? Because they are rich and on Wall Street,” Wehe added.
The conflicting wishes of PG&E and survivors are both reflected in an order approved by Judge Dennis Montali on Wednesday, leaving open the question of whether the utility will get its way.
“The Debtors believe the [bankruptcy] Plan is clear that the fire and penalty set forth above is a Fire Victim Claim to be paid from the Fire Victim trust,” the order reads.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the committee representing wildfire survivors in the bankruptcy insisted on the addition of disapproving language, also included in Montali’s order: “The Tort Claimants Committee has advised the Debtors that they disagree and assert that such fine and penalty is not to be paid from the Fire Victim Trust.”
The Camp Fire  destroyed nearly 14,000 homes in Paradise and surrounding towns including Concow, where Marie Wehe lived.
“PG&E wants to pay for the penalty for killing victims’ parents out of the trust that’s supposed to compensate them for losing their loved ones,” said Bob Julian, an attorney representing the committee for wildfire victims.
PG&E’s agreement with the district attorney’s office is subject to approval by both the Butte County Superior Court and the bankruptcy court. The Butte County District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond for comment.
The utility entered into bankruptcy protection last year as wildfire liabilities mounted. It is aiming to exit Chapter 11 by this summer in order to tap a state wildfire insurance fund.
Copyright 2020 KQED