McCallum disputed the characterizations, saying lawmakers should be focused on making the best deal for their constituents. "I want to hear that Sen. Dodd is ready to step up for his constituents and wildfire victims," McCallum said Tuesday. The Fire Victim Trust was created to compensate victims from the 2017 North Bay fires, the 2018 Camp fire and other fires whose claims helped push Pacific Gas and Electric Co. into bankruptcy in January 2019. PG&E established the $13.5 billion fund as part of a deal to emerge from bankruptcy court. Only half the fund was cash. The other half was company stock, and low share prices mean that the fund is short at least $1.5 billion. A loan could help bail the trust out from what some fire victims consider a bad deal they were pushed into by the Legislature, the utility and other forces including Up from the Ashes, a victim's advocacy group funded by high-powered trial attorneys that employed McCallum after the 2017 and 2018 fires.