As the ash settles, with thousands still displaced, the emergency shelters closing and the housing market facing price gouging, victims of fires that ravaged Los Angeles last month are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and turn towards the long process of rebuilding.
Local and national law firms are now clamoring to gather clients in mass tort lawsuits against Southern California Edison (SCE), alleging that a malfunction in its equipment was the source of the Eaton Fire that decimated entire neighborhoods in Altadena and Pasadena.
On Feb. 8, the self-defined legal and advocacy group LA Fire Justice hosted the second of two town hall meetings for residents.
“You’ve been through so much, and it has broken my heart,” said consumer advocate Erin Brockovich, made famous from the Oscar-winning film that chronicled her environmental activism.
“This is a long process of healing, and we’re here at every level to answer your questions, support and get you through what will be one of the most difficult times you’ve had,” she continued. “You will be the phoenix that’s going to rise from the ashes.”
Powered by strong winds on Jan. 7, the Eaton Fire was one of the most destructive fires in California’s history, burning more than 14,000 acres, with over 9,400 structures destroyed and 17 fatalities, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
SoCal Edison continues to deny claims that it is responsible for igniting the inferno.
“We do not know what caused the Eaton Fire. Our investigation is still in its early stages. The investigation into all possible causes involving SCE’s equipment continues,” the power company said in a response to the lawsuits.
However, SoCal Edison acknowledged that “its equipment may be associated with the ignition of the Hurst Fire” in Sylmar, which burned nearly 800 acres of brush with no structural damage.
“What we are doing here is righteous litigation,” said LA Fire Justice attorney Mikal Watt. “It’s not frivolous lawsuits, it is righteous litigation backed up by the facts.”
Watt presented the case at the town hall, claiming their team’s wildfire investigators and digital mappers created a 3D model of Eaton Canyon using video footage of the incident and photogrammetry to pinpoint the exact origin of the fire to one of SCE’s transmission towers.
“I’m telling you, in representing 21,000 fire survivors and 22 different wildfires,” said Watt, “this is the best evidence that I’ve ever seen.”
The lawsuits seek to recoup uninsured losses – losses that people have above and beyond their insurance.
“The bad news is you’re all tragically underinsured,” said Watt. “[Insurance companies] are not going to pay you the cost to rebuild, they’re going to pay what it’s worth, which is about 40% less than the cost to rebuild.”
Additionally, many of the homes in Altadena have been passed down through generations. If insurance is tied to the mortgage, that means fire victims get paid out based on what the homes were bought for, not what the home is now worth.
After living in Altadena for 30 years, Elizabeth and Hipolito Cisneros’ home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire. They are determined to rebuild, not only their home but the community around them.
“I want accountability,” said Elizabeth Cisneros who attended the meeting for information and to see Brockovich.
However, the couple plans on sticking with their current legal representation of KJT Law Group, which she described as “passionate and aggressive.”
Many other law firms are simultaneously filing cases against SoCal Edison, with a barrage of ads taking over social media.
Just across the street from where the town hall was held at the Pasadena Masonic Temple, is the office of another firm taking on cases for fire victims, Becker Law Group, whose attorney Tod Becker was also displaced by the fires.
The attorneys at LA Fire Justice encouraged the crowd to weigh all their options and not rush into signing legal contracts. They added that there is an “economy of scale” when a community files a mass tort with one law firm instead of spreading out various ones because it brings down the cost of added legal fees for experts that each individual would take on.
Embracing Uncertainty
Some residents joining lawsuits are renters, and others did not lose their homes, but were evacuated and are still unable to return due to the dangerous toxins now covering their properties.
Two Altadena renters in their late 80s, Vincent and Virginia Robbins, were brought to the town hall by their daughter.
“After today, I think my parents have to figure out their options and make a decision of what’s best for them,” said Brooke Teal Robbins, who was impressed by the evidence presented by LA Fire Justice.
“This is an event based on experience and advocacy, activism and justice,” she said.
The couple, who have been through a fire before, said they knew immediately that this fire was worse than anything they had ever experienced.
“I knew we had to get out of there right away,” said Vincent Robbins.
“It was like you’re in a movie or something,” his wife added.
They quickly grabbed important documents and family photos. While Virginia Robbins took video of all the rooms in their home, her artist husband rushed to his studio trying to salvage his life’s work.
While carrying a large painting out to his truck, a strong gust of wind carried him five feet in the air. He landed in the driveway and spent the next day in the hospital with a head injury, loosened teeth and broken ribs. Despite the injuries, Vincent Robbins went back to their burned-down home and collected pieces of debris to use in art pieces based on the wreckage.
“That’s the way I’m going to recover,” he said. “I almost feel like a 20-year-old again, starting all over.”
His daughter recalled what Brockovich had said about the phoenix rising from the ashes.
“It’s not just things that you can’t replace. It’s also about how you feel,” said Brooke Teal Robbins. She added that people need to receive justice financially but also “feel that you’ve gotten justice.” For her father, that means “being able to still move on to a new chapter of his art.”
Throughout this whole experience, Vincent Robbins said he has been reflecting on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
“Uncertainty, to me, is like a gift. … If we didn’t have uncertainty, we probably wouldn’t have our imaginations, and uncertainty allows us [space] for discovery,” he said. “I had that word going through my head all throughout this. … I really embraced uncertainty. It’s a good thing. That’s helped us survive this, too.”