People and businesses affected by the January 2025 Eaton Fire have until November 30, 2026 to submit a claim to Southern California Edison’s voluntary Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program. Filing and reviewing an offer do not waive any rights, but accepting an offer means signing a release that resolves the claim against SCE.
What Is the November 30 Deadline?
November 30, 2026 is the last day to submit a claim to the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, the voluntary program Southern California Edison set up to pay people and businesses affected by the Eaton Fire, which began January 7, 2025 in Los Angeles County. It is not a class action settlement. SCE runs it directly, with offers built on a published claims protocol, and it was designed with compensation-fund administrators Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros. Lawsuits over the fire against SCE are proceeding separately.According to SCE, claims submitted by November 30 will keep being reviewed and processed after that date, even if an offer has not been prepared yet, as long as the claimant keeps responding to the program's requests for information.
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Accepting an Offer Means Signing a Release
The program's own FAQ draws the line in one place: participation “does not affect any rights until a claimant accepts the compensation offer and signs a release.” Submitting a claim, receiving an offer and evaluating it do not waive anything, and an offer can be declined. Accepting one is different. Each accepted claim is resolved through a settlement agreement with SCE, and SCE pays within 30 days after the agreement's conditions are met. That signed release is what separates the program from the pending litigation.SCE presents the program as faster than the courts. Its October 30 release says offers arrive on average within 36 days of a substantially complete claim, that some claims from 2017 and 2018 fires are still pending in court, and that only eight households have been selected for the initial Eaton Fire trial. SCE also describes its offers as comparable to settlement values from past wildfire litigation; that is the company's characterization, and courts have not tested it.
Who Can File a Claim?
The program's eligibility rules cover:- owners and tenants of eligible properties, except people who rented for less than 30 days;
- businesses that owned or occupied an eligible property;
- people physically injured within the fire perimeter, directly by the Eaton Fire, who were hospitalized or treated as outpatients between January 7 and 15, 2025; and
- personal representatives of the estates of people who died before January 31, 2025 from injuries the fire directly caused.
What the Program Has Paid So Far
As of October 30, 2026, SCE reported more than 5,550 claims covering nearly 17,000 individuals, trusts and businesses, with 41% submitted through attorneys or other representatives. It had extended more than 3,200 offers to more than 8,000 claimants, totaling about $1.1 billion. Nearly 80% of offers had been accepted and about 2% declined, and more than 4,450 claimants had been paid over $625 million.SCE says individual offers have ranged from $15,000 for a tenant with non-burn damage to $15.1 million for a claimant with multiple properties. Through September 2026, it reports an average program payment of $873,881 to homeowners with a total loss, on top of an average of $1,079,059 in insurance, and an average payment of $62,068 to tenants with smoke and ash damage. These are SCE's own figures.
How Insurance and Attorneys Affect an Offer
Under the standard Fast Pay track, the offer for rebuilding costs, personal property and loss of use is reduced by applicable insurance. Non-economic damages, a Direct Claim Premium and the attorney-fee amount are not reduced by insurance. According to the program FAQ, claimants can still pursue their own insurers in the reduced categories and do not have to repay SCE if insurance later pays more than expected.Claimants who have a lawyer when they submit get an additional amount equal to 20% of their net damages, not counting the Direct Claim Premium, toward legal fees. A lawyer is not required to file.
The Separate Lawsuit Deadlines
The program deadline is not the deadline to sue. In its October 20 release, SCE said California generally allows two years for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, which for some Eaton Fire claims could end as early as January 7, 2027, and three years for property damage, which could end as early as January 7, 2028, depending on the circumstances. The exact deadline for any one claim depends on its facts.Frequently Asked Questions
Is SCE’s Eaton Fire compensation program a class action settlement?
No. The Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program is a voluntary claims program run by Southern California Edison, designed with compensation-fund administrators Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros. It is not a court-approved class settlement, and it is separate from the lawsuits over the Eaton Fire pending against SCE. Each claim is resolved individually, by a settlement agreement between the claimant and SCE.
Does filing a claim by Nov. 30 give up the right to sue SCE?
Not by itself. SCE’s program FAQ says participation does not affect any rights until a claimant accepts the compensation offer and signs a release, and that submitting a claim, receiving an offer and evaluating it do not waive a claimant’s rights. An offer can be declined. Accepting an offer and signing the release is what resolves the claim.
What happens to claims that are not finished by Nov. 30?
According to SCE, claims submitted by November 30, 2026 will continue to be reviewed and processed afterward, even if validation or preparation of an offer is not complete. Claimants must remain responsive to the program’s requests for information to keep the claim active.
How does insurance affect an SCE program offer?
Under the program’s standard Fast Pay track, offers for rebuilding costs, personal property and loss of use are reduced by applicable insurance, while non-economic damages, the Direct Claim Premium and attorney-fee amounts are not. SCE says claimants can still pursue their own insurers in the offset categories and do not have to repay SCE if insurance later pays more than expected.
How do the program deadline and lawsuit deadlines compare?
They are separate. The program deadline is November 30, 2026. SCE’s October 20 release says California generally allows two years to sue for personal injury or wrongful death, which for some Eaton Fire claims could end as early as January 7, 2027, and three years for property damage, which could end as early as January 7, 2028, depending on the circumstances.
