Some PG&E fire victims in a race against time to get paid [San Francisco Chronicle]
Feb. 1 Janet Ames was a California disaster survivor two times over. She held firm as the earth shook violently beneath her in 1989 and drove through a whirlwind of flames in 2018. Both catastrophes changed the course of her life, and the second may have cut it short.
Nearly three decades after surviving the Loma Prieta earthquake, Ames narrowly escaped the historically ruinous Camp Fire as it laid waste to the Butte County town of Paradise. Though she emerged without any grave physical injuries, the omnipresent smoke caused her preexisting respiratory problems to worsen, according to her family.
Some PG&E fire survivors in a race against time to get paid
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Sharron Ames visits the former home in Paradise (Butte County) of her mother, who survived the Camp Fire but died before a settlement.Scott Strazzante / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Janet Ames in her 50s with her son Robert’s wife, Cindy; her granddaughter Erin Ames; and son Peter Ames. She died last year at 85.Courtesy Ames familyShow MoreShow Less
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Sharron Ames wipes away a tear while visiting Sherwood Forest Trailer Park in Paradise.Scott Strazzante / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Janet Ames’ trailer was damaged during the Camp Fire, and her family says it required $36,000 in repairs.Courtesy Sharron AmesShow MoreShow Less