SAN FRANCISCO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. bankruptcy judge in San Francisco Wednesday approved a plan by the leading California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to create a 105 million-U.S.-dollar fund to assist victims who suffered heavily in wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
PG&E said the fund, approved by Judge Dennis Montali of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Northern District of California, will be used to help those displaced by the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire.
The Camp Fire, which started on Nov. 8, 2018 in Butte County, killed at least 85 people, scorched 153,336 acres (620 square km) and destroyed over 18,000 buildings after burning more than two weeks. The fire was the deadliest and most destructive fire disaster in California history.
Montali said the company's Wildfire Assistance Fund will provide short-term relief to the fire victims who were uninsured or need additional assistance with housing costs or other urgent needs.
PG&E said it wants to make the funds available to the wildfire victims as quickly as possible and will select a third-party administrator to oversee the disbursement to eligible participants.
"PG&E remains committed to helping wildfire victims rebuild and recover, and this program is part of how we're living up to that commitment," said PG&E Corporation Chief Executive Officer and President Bill Johnson.
The fund of 105 million dollars will mainly come from the company's cash reserves, said PG&E, adding it will not seek cost recovery from its customers.
Administrative expenses will be capped at 5 million dollars to ensure that the vast majority of the fund will be used for the living expenses and urgent needs of the wildfire victims, said PG&E.
The San Francisco-headquartered California power utility, which served nearly 16 million people in northern and central California, has been sued by fire victims for its power lines causing wildfires and leading to their loss of property in the two deadly disasters in 2017 and 2018.
PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2019 in the face of liabilities which were estimated at more than 30 billion dollars in connection with the catastrophic wildfires.
On May 15, California state investigators officially released a report, blaming PG&E's power lines for sparking the fatal wildfires in Butte County, about 280 km north of San Francisco last year.
