California Wildfire Settlement Calculator 2026: Estimate Claim Value
Use the California Wildfire Settlement Calculator to organise property loss, smoke and ash damage, business interruption, displacement costs, insurance shortfall and the evidence behind a utility-caused wildfire claim.
- Organises structure loss, contents, smoke and ash damage and land remediation.
- Captures business interruption, displacement and additional living expenses.
- Helps quantify the gap between insurance payouts and actual loss.
- Separates the direct compensation route from litigation, and their consequences.
Get Your California Wildfire Claim Estimate
Answer the guided questions using the most accurate property, insurance, business and displacement information available.
Is the calculator estimate what I would receive?
No. It is a gross figure. Attorney fees, case expenses and any insurer subrogation claim come out before anything reaches you.
If I already received an insurance payout, can I still claim?
Frequently yes, for the shortfall between what insurance paid and the actual loss. Your insurer may have its own claim against the utility for what it paid, which is handled separately from yours.
How the California Wildfire Settlement Calculator Works
The calculator organises the categories of loss that both the compensation programme and litigation assess. It does not apply a universal multiplier and cannot replace a loss adjuster or attorney analysis.
1. Describe the Property Loss
Total or partial structure loss, owner or tenant, residential or commercial, and whether the land itself requires remediation.
2. Add Non-Burn Damage
Smoke, soot and ash damage to properties that did not burn is a recognised category and covers a far wider area than the burn scar.
3. Enter Business and Displacement Loss
Business interruption, lost income, additional living expenses and the cost of temporary relocation.
4. Quantify the Insurance Gap
What insurance paid, what it excluded, and what remains uncovered — usually the core of any claim.
Factors That Can Affect California Wildfire Settlement Value
Wildfire claim value is built from documented categories of loss rather than a single multiplier, and the route you choose changes how those categories are assessed.
Extent of structure loss
Total loss, partial loss and non-burn smoke or ash damage are assessed very differently.
Owner or tenant
Both can claim, but for different losses — structure and land for owners, contents and displacement for tenants.
Business interruption
Documented revenue loss, payroll continuation and the period of closure.
Insurance shortfall
Underinsurance, excluded categories and disputed adjustments are frequently the largest remaining loss.
Physical injury or loss of life
Both the compensation programme and the litigation treat these as distinct and higher-value categories.
Which fire and which defendant
Eaton and Palisades are on different tracks with different defendants and different legal defences.
Evidence That Can Support a California Wildfire Claim
Wildfire claims are documentary. The more completely a loss is evidenced, the less of it is argued about.
Proof of Ownership or Tenancy
Deed, mortgage statement, lease or rental agreement establishing your interest in the property.
County recorder records can replace lost documents.Pre-Fire Property Records
Photographs, appraisals, tax assessments and improvement records establishing condition and value before the fire.
Real estate listings and county assessor records often survive when personal copies do not.Insurance File
The policy, the claim file, what was paid and what was denied or excluded.
Request the complete claim file from the insurer, not just the settlement letter.Damage Documentation
Photographs, inspection reports, remediation estimates and air or surface testing for smoke and ash claims.
Independent testing strengthens non-burn damage claims considerably.Business Records
Revenue history, payroll, tax returns and the period of interruption.
Two to three years of prior figures establish the baseline.Displacement Costs
Temporary accommodation, storage, additional travel and other living expenses.
Keep receipts contemporaneously; reconstructing them later is far harder.Where California Wildfire Claims Stand in 2026
The January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires generated one of the largest bodies of wildfire litigation in California history, and the two fires have moved very differently.
For context on scale, Southern California Edison previously paid $80 million to resolve claims from the 2017 Thomas Fire and $210 million for the 2018 Woolsey Fire. No global settlement of the 2025 fires has been announced.
California Wildfire Lawsuit Filing Deadlines
The SCE Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program has its own deadline: claims must be submitted by 30 November 2026. That is a programme deadline set by Edison, not a court deadline, and it is earlier than the general limitation period for many claims.
California limitation periods for property damage and personal injury claims arising from a wildfire run on their own timetable and vary by the nature of the claim. Claims against public entities such as LADWP are subject to shorter government claim deadlines that can be measured in months rather than years.
Because the two routes have different deadlines and different consequences — accepting a programme offer means agreeing not to litigate — the sequencing matters. It is worth understanding both before committing to either.
California Wildfire Lawsuit, Settlement & Related Claim Resources
Why the Estimate Is Not the Cheque
Any figure this calculator produces, and any figure quoted in a news headline, is a gross number. Several deductions sit between a gross allocation and the money that reaches a claimant, and they are the same in every mass tort.
1. Gross allocation
What the claim is valued at, before anything is taken out.
2. Attorney fees and costs
The contingency fee plus case expenses, set out in the retainer agreement you sign at the start.
3. Liens and reimbursements
Insurers that already paid on a property or business policy may assert subrogation rights against any recovery for the same loss.
4. Net to claimant
What remains after fees, costs and lien resolution — and what actually arrives.
Lien resolution is usually the step that takes longest. Health insurers, and in many cases Medicare or Medicaid, have a right to be reimbursed out of a settlement for treatment they already paid for. Those amounts can frequently be reduced through a formal resolution process, but the process adds time — often months between an agreed figure and a distributed payment.
None of this is a reason not to bring a claim. It is a reason to read every wildfire figure you encounter as a gross number rather than a net one, and to ask about the fee structure and likely lien exposure early rather than late.
California Wildfire Settlement Calculator FAQ
How does the California wildfire settlement calculator work?
It organises property loss, smoke and ash damage, business interruption, displacement costs and insurance shortfall into an educational estimate. It does not determine liability or predict an offer.
Should I use the SCE compensation programme or sue?
That depends on your losses, your evidence and your tolerance for time and risk. The programme is faster; accepting an offer requires signing a settlement agreement that includes a promise not to litigate further. It is a decision worth taking advice on before making.
What is the deadline for the SCE programme?
Claims must be submitted by 30 November 2026. That is Edison’s programme deadline, and it is separate from any court limitation period.
My house did not burn but is full of smoke damage. Do I have a claim?
Smoke, soot and ash damage to properties that did not burn is an explicitly covered category in the SCE programme, and the eligibility area for it was expanded after community consultation. Independent testing strengthens these claims.
Is the Palisades Fire the same litigation?
No. The Palisades claims involve public agency defendants including LADWP, which have asserted governmental immunity defences. The legal position and the practical outlook differ significantly from the Eaton Fire claims against Edison.
Does the calculator submit a claim?
No. It produces an educational estimate and, if you choose, passes your details for a free case review. It does not file anything with Edison or any court.
Request a Free California Wildfire Case Review
If you lost property, suffered smoke or ash damage, or were displaced by the January 2025 fires, use the calculator to organise your losses or request a confidential review before the 30 November 2026 programme deadline.
Sources and Further Reading
Edison International — Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program
Edison’s own announcement of the programme, its covered categories, the 30 November 2026 deadline and the settlement agreement requirement.
Read Edison’s announcementWildfire Recovery Compensation Program
The programme’s own information page for claimants.
View the programmeCalifornia Department of Insurance
Guidance on wildfire insurance claims, underinsurance and disputed adjustments.
View the guidanceCAL FIRE
Official incident information and cause investigations for California wildfires.
View CAL FIRELos Angeles Superior Court
The court where the coordinated Eaton and Palisades fire proceedings are heard.
View the court
