Ms. Foreman, 22, was hired by Mr. Kasolas to help spread the word about filing claims. She spent her day taping fliers to pizza boxes at Red Lion Pizza in Magalia, just north of Paradise, and handing out others to churches and agencies, hoping it would prompt even one more person to file a claim.

But time is short, and a bigger problem persists.

We know there was significant post-fire displacement people had to move away, said Steven Skikos, a lawyer appointed by the court to represent victims interests. But we dont know the specifics of who ended up where. Thats a real problem.

An analyst at Chico State provided Mr. Kasolas with a map produced from United States Postal Service information showing that wildfire victims had moved to almost every state, with significant clusters in the Pacific Northwest, Arizona, Texas and Tennessee. But the map does not provide addresses.

For its part, PG&E said it had employed a broad campaign to ensure that wildfire victims received information about filing claims, including newspaper, magazine, radio, social media and digital advertisements. The utility sent emails to about four million customers and claim forms by mail to more than six million customers.

We feel this is the most robust noticing effort in bankruptcy history, including outreach through national publications, Paul Moreno, a PG&E spokesman, said.

But sometimes the trouble with filing a claim is more a problem with the process.

Rosemary Peterson had traveled from Magalia for the food giveaway at Paradise Alliance Church when she saw the table with the information about filing a claim.

Ms. Peterson, 88, had tried to submit a claim online but struggled to complete it on her own. Although her home survived the Camp Fire, smoke damage required some restoration. The trees in her yard have died. And her friends and neighbors have scattered.

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He is Trying to Get Fire Victims Paid. He Has to Find Them First. - The New York Times