The federal government filed two separate lawsuits against the Southern California Edison Company, accusing the power company’s infrastructure of sparking two wildfires, including the devastating Eaton Fire.
In January, the Eaton Fire, which scorched nearly 14,000 acres in Los Angeles County in January, killed 19 people. Now, the Justice Department says the deadly fire “ignited from faulty power infrastructure or by sparks from faulty power infrastructure owned, maintained, and operated” by the utility.
The blaze swept through nearly 8,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest — destroying roads, trails, and campgrounds —and caused “catastrophic damage” to neighboring communities, burning over 10,000 structures, the lawsuit filed Thursday states.
The DOJ has accused the company of negligence, among other claims, and is seeking $77 million in damages across the two suits.
“But for Edison’s negligence, these fires would not have started,” Bill Essayli, the acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said at a press conference. “Fire season is coming up again. We want Edison to change the way it does business.”
In a separate suit also filed Thursday, the government says the electric company is also responsible for the September 2022 Fairview Fire, which burned nearly 14,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest.
“A sagging power line owned, maintained, and operated” by the Southern California Edison Company “came into contact with a Frontier Communications messenger cable, creating sparks that ignited vegetation below the lines in Hemet, California,” the suit alleges. As the blaze roared through Riverside County, it scorched claimed two lives, injuring three others, and burned 44 structures, the suit says.
Essayli is seeking damages of more than $40 million for the Eaton Fire and $37 million for the Fairview Fire, he said.
Another investigation into responsibility for the Palisades Fire is ongoing, Essayli added.
The Independent has asked Southern California Edison for comment.
Firefighters worked tirelessly to contain the Eaton Fire, the Palisades Fire, and other blazes that emerged on January 7.
The Palisades Fire rapidly spread across 23,000 acres in Los Angeles County, killing 12 people and destroying over 6,000 structures.
The DOJ’s lawsuit related to the Eaton Fire comes months after law firm Edelson PC posted a video on social media in late January, pointing fingers at the power company for being responsible for the blaze.
“We’ve obtained video that indicates the Eaton fire in Los Angeles started after an apparent arc on SoCal Edison lines,” the firm wrote in the post. “We’re back in court for a hearing tomorrow fighting to make sure that SoCal Edison keeps all the evidence that we will put before a jury in this case.”
“That video requires careful analysis,” a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, told The Independent after the video was posted.
“When we received it, we shared it quickly with fire investigators so that they had it as part of our commitment to transparency,” he continued. “I would also say it’s premature for anyone to comment on footage until experts complete a review. And so, we’ve reached out to the authorities after receiving it to make sure they had it, and we continue to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
