Chico was given $43 million in compensation for being a hub for the response of authorities to the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and burned more than 18,000 homes and other buildings. The news came out on Wednesday. The money came from the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Fire Victim Trust, which was set up in July 2020 to pay out claims related to wildfires after the utility company went bankrupt.
The small town of Paradise, which is about 15 miles east of Chico, was destroyed by the Camp Fire in June 2020. PG&E admitted to murder charges. There was a lot of damage in Paradise. It was the deadliest wildfire in California history and the most expensive disaster in the world that year, with more than $16 billion in losses.
The Camp Fire compensation in Chico is mostly due to the damage done to city roads by tens of thousands of vehicles driven by first responders, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, utility companies, debris removal services, lumber companies, and building companies.
California city awarded more than $40 million for acting as hub for Camp Fire response https://t.co/yROB0Jve80
— The Sacramento Bee (@sacbee_news) November 22, 2023
The payments will be made based on the Fire Victim Trust’s plan for proportional payments. A news release from Chico says that officials there expect to get about $21 million next month as ordered by the bankruptcy court.
In the news release, Chico City Manager Mark Sorensen said, “This money will help Chico continue to help the people of Chico and Paradise.” “As the hub for response and recovery, we were proud to help the people of Paradise during the worst wildfire in California history.”
Chico was a base camp for different groups in the months after the Camp Fire. These groups included Cal Fire, first responders, FEMA, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the town of Paradise, the Paradise Unified School District, PG&E, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, AT&T, Comcast, and others.