Eaton fire victims ask Edison for emergency housing aid

Many who lost homes are living on the edge. They urge the utility to 'do the right thing.'

- BY MELODY PETERSEN

ZAIRE CALVIN is among residents calling on Edison for relief. His sister died in the fire and he lost his home.

(GARY CORONADO For The Times)

A coalition of Eaton fire survivors and community groups called on Southern California Edison on Tuesday to provide immediate housing assistance to the thousands of people who lost their homes in the Jan. 7 wildfire.

The coalition says an increasing number of Altadena residents are running out of insurance coverage that had been paying for their housing since they were displaced by the fire. Thousands of other residents had no insurance.

"When a company’s fire destroys or contaminates homes, that company has a responsibility to keep families housed until they can get back home," said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, one of the coalition members asking Edison for emergency assistance of up to $200,000 for each family.

At the coalition's news conference, Altadena residents spoke of trying to find a place to live after the Jan. 7 fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes, apartments and other structures. Thousands of other homes were damaged by smoke and ash.

Gabriel Gonzalez said he had been living in his car for most of the last year.

Before the fire, Gonzalez had a successful plumbing company with six employees, he said. He had moved into an apartment in Altadena just a month before the fire and lost $80,000 worth of tools when the building was destroyed.

His insurance did not cover the loss, Gonzalez said, and he lost his business.